The Misadventures of Punk, Jerk, Shorty, and Hypno-Hands
by PhantomGirl1731
Summary: Title has officially changed. The following is a collection of one-shots/deleted scenes from the current story "Flashbulb Memories" following my OC's Case and Ryder Howlett and the adventures and misadventures in their lives with Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes. Will feature cameo appearances from Logan Howlett, Victor Creed, and the other Avengers down the line.
1. You Fainted, Meatball

**While working on "Flashbulb Memories" I had some ideas for flashbacks in the friendship between Steve, Bucky, Case, and Ryder as they grew up along with some stories between them and the Avengers in the present day. However, some of these stories just don't fit well into "Flashbulb Memories" so they will be posted here.**

 **For example, I wanted to add the moments where Steve and Bucky found out that their friends were mutants...hence, this chapter was born.**

* * *

" **You Fainted, Meatball"**

 **April 1934**

"So…how exactly did Bucky get detention for a month?" Case asked.

"Because he was really, _really_ lucky," Steve explained.

"That and he can talk his way out of almost any situation," Ryder added.

The trio of fifteen-year-olds were walking home after school had let out, save for their friend Bucky – who was suspiciously silent about the reason, but had to spend each afternoon afterschool in detention, and his free time spent in his room at home until school let out for the summer.

"But he's serving time for a _month_ ," Case pointed out to her twin.

"I did say _almost_."

Case rolled her eyes, "Alright, but what did he do?"

"He got caught with Suzanne Delvechio in the third-floor closet," Steve told her.

Case blinked, "What were they doing?"

Steve and Ryder stopped dead in their tracks, both giving her dumbfounded looks.

Case felt her cheeks go red before she pointed at Ryder, "Do _not_ give me that look Ryder James! Need I remind you of what I caught _you_ doing with her sister Monica a few weeks ago?"

Ryder gave a small smirk, "Actually…that _was_ pretty fun."

"Wait…you and Monica Delvechio?" Steve asked.

"Yep," Ryder nodded as they started walking again.

"Isn't she a senior?"

"What's your point?"

Steve frowned, "What were you doing in there with her?"

"Let's just say Monica's not wearing white to her wedding," Case rolled her eyes. "Thanks for the nightmares, by the way."

Ryder rolled his eyes, "Please…that idea was gone _long_ before I went into the closet with her."

Steve's eyes were wide, and his face was the color of a tomato, "Wow…" He coughed uncomfortably, "Um…" He looked at Case, "Uh…have you…?"

"Not pertinent to the conversation, Steven," Case snapped.

"Case is saving herself for Bucky," Ryder said, giving his twin a nudge.

"I am not!"

"Yes, you are."

"It's not Bucky!"

"Except you're head over heels in love with him."

"Ryder!" Case hissed, her face matching Steve's.

"Please, Case," Steve chimed in. "You stare at him when his back is turned every chance you get."

Case rolled her eyes and stomped on ahead of them, ignoring Ryder's comments about her feelings for Bucky.

* * *

"I mean, seriously, every five minutes there's another comment about how handsome he is or how gorgeous his eyes are," Ryder added.

They'd finally reached the Howlett's apartment, Steve entering first, followed closely by Case who tried slamming the door into her brother, who took it with a muffled grunt.

"Ryder…maybe it's time to cool it," Steve frowned.

"Thank you," Case rolled her eyes, heading straight for the kitchen.

"Come on, Case knows I'm only messing around," Ryder said, following her. He sat at the kitchen table as Case poured herself a glass of milk, "It's the nature of our relationship…we drive each other nuts."

"Yeah…but…"

"Steve, you don't get the dynamics of the sibling relationship," Ryder shrugged. "Ask Bucky…I'm sure he'll vouge for me."

Steve gave a frown then looked at Case, who had the glass raised to her mouth and was chugging the glass of milk like it was going out of style. "Still…she looks angry."

"She's standing right here!" Case snapped at him, slamming her glass down on the counter.

"Sorry Case," Steve said sheepishly, as he watched the twins with a weary eye.

"I'm just saying Case…you talk about him _all_ the _time,_ " Ryder rolled his eyes. "About his dreamy eyes…about how he looks like certain movie stars…how you want to—"

"That's it!" Case snapped, and she moved like a blur across the room. She had her left fist twisted into Ryder's shirt, her right fist curled and pulled back, ready to strike as she snapped, "Keep mocking my feelings for Bucky and I'll run you through like I did when we were five!"

The next sound they heard was a loud "thump". Both twins looked to where Steve had been standing…and lowered their eyes to the floor, where Steve was currently slumped over.

Ryder looked down at Case's hand, "Well…that's one down I guess…"

Case looked down at her own hand, then hissed, "Shit!"

* * *

"Steve?" Case's voice was the first thing he heard.

Steve felt groggy. He remembered seeing stars then blackness…

"Hey Steve, you with us pal?" Ryder's voice was next.

He responded with a groan as he rubbed at his eyes, "What happened?"

"You fainted, meatball," Case said, and Steve could hear the laugh in her voice. "Can you open your eyes for me? Bucky would never forgive us if you died on our watch."

Steve slowly opened his eyes, taking in the sight of the Howlett's living room. They'd apparently moved him to the sofa before he woke. "What happened? I mean, I _know_ I fainted…but I remember…"

The twins exchanged looks, and Steve noticed Case's hand was wrapped in a dish towel…and bundled up in a way that as twice as large as it should be for just her hand.

"You…you had bones…" Steve motioned at the air above his knuckles, "Sticking out…"

Another look exchanged, and Ryder gave a nod before Case unwrapped the dish towel from her hand.

Three slim, pale white, bones stuck out of the knuckles of Case's right hand, all three basically the length of Case's forearm. She got closer and tentatively held them out, so Steve could see them clearly.

"That…wasn't a dream," Steve murmured as he eyed the bones. He reached out and touched the one that stuck out between her index and middle finger, running his own fingers over the smooth surface.

Case gave a shudder but didn't move, and Ryder cocked an eyebrow at her. "Tickled," she murmured.

"Weirdo," Ryder rolled his eyes.

"I'm still not above stabbing you," Case shot back.

"You said you'd stabbed him before?" Steve asked quietly.

Case looked down at her feet, "Uh…yeah…when we were five. It was the first time my claws presented themselves…somehow, we tripped, and I jabbed them into Ryder's back."

"Also, the day we found that I had our father's healing ability."

"Your father…is like you?"

"More or less," Case admitted. "Both our parents are…we can heal from any injury like our dad…he's also got bone claws, although he's fused with Adamantium…" At Steve's confused look, Case added, "Type of metal."

"I see…" Steve said, still in a slight shock. He looked at Ryder, "And what can you do?"

"Tactile Hypnosis…I'm like our mother in that respect," Ryder admitted. He wiggled his gloved fingers, "If I touch someone…they'll do anything I tell them."

"Have you…did you…?" Steve wanted to ask, but he couldn't bring himself to finish the question. He _knew_ Ryder Howlett…he didn't want to think his friend would do anything horrible like that.

"No…never…and never intentionally if I ever have," Ryder explained. "It's why I wear gloves…I tried on animals when we were younger…nothing that would hurt them, just a few tricks…I never want to be that person."

 _That's what I thought,_ Steve thought with a small sigh of relief. "So, you two are…what did they call 'em…?"

"Mutants," Ryder said. "They call us mutants."

"Right…" Steve nodded, trying to process what he was seeing. "Do…they uh…" He motioned at his hand again, "Do they hurt?"

Case gave a shrug as she finally retracted them, "Sometimes…if I'm not expecting it. My dad says his hurt every time…but his are like knives because of the metal."

"You do that at will?"

Case took a seat next to him on the sofa and seemed to relax a bit herself when she noticed Steve didn't move away from her, "Yeah…although there _are_ times where they come out because I'm stressed…just depends on the situation I guess."

Ryder stood over them, folding his arms over his chest, "You do know you can't tell _anyone_ about this, Steve."

"Who would I tell?" Steve asked, a little insulted. "And who would believe me if I did?"

"Well…I'm gonna go out on a limb and say, one James Buchanan Barnes…you know… _Bucky,_ " Ryder rolled his eyes.

"Wait…Bucky doesn't know either?" Steve asked in shock. "Are you guys ever going to tell him?"

"Can't tell _anyone_ Steve."

"But…Bucky…we're friends," Steve frowned at them. "Why weren't you going to tell us?"

"Again Steve…we weren't supposed to tell _anyone_ ," Case told him.

"I get that…but we're you're friends!" Steve snapped, shooting to his feet, anger overriding any rational thought at the moment. "We've been friends for ten years! I would've thought that in that time frame you could've deemed us trustworthy to tell Bucky and me at least!"

Ten years of friendship, of fights, sickness and health – more on Steve's part than the others, but it was the principle of the thing – and they hadn't told them? And had never planned to?

"Steve…you know our dad," Ryder told him. "You know how he gets…when it comes to our mutations that was one thing he never bent on."

"Why?" Steve asked. "I wouldn't tell a soul…and I'm sure Bucky would be the same."

"It's just not a good idea, Steve," Case told him. "Please…promise us…you won't tell Bucky."

Steve's shoulders slumped, "Guys…he should know."

"You're right," Ryder nodded. "But our dad is firm…if he finds out you know he's gonna be pissed."

"What's going to happen if you tell Bucky?" Steve asked. "Or anyone for that matter?"

Case shrugged, "We don't know…it comes down to safety, but our dad has always been vague."

"We've been trying to get a straight answer for years," Ryder added. "Dad doesn't give us a valid reason, and any time we ask our Uncle Victor he defers to our dad."

Steve mulled that over. "So…you two are mutants…your dad is a mutant…I assume Victor too?"

"Oh yeah," Ryder gave a nod, plopping down on the couch.

"And your mom…could she heal too?"

"Dunno," Case shrugged. "We know she could do what he could do," She motioned at Ryder, "Other than that…there's not much we do know."

Steve just hummed as he let the information sink in. He plopped down in one of the armchairs, processing the whole thing.

As a few minutes passed, Case spoke up, "Steve?"

"You'll have to tell him sometime," Steve said at last.

"Huh?"

"Bucky…you'll have to tell him sometime."

"Steve—"

"Well how do you plan to date him if you don't tell him?" Steve asked with a small smirk.

Case scowled and threw a throw pillow at him, "Jackass."

The tension lifted and the three could finally relax. Another few minutes crawled by before Ryder asked, "So Steve…you never answered Case's question."

Steve, who'd taken hold of the pillow and was hugging it to his chest, frowned at him, "What question?"

Ryder sat up, "What did Bucky get caught doing in the third-floor closet?"


	2. What's Your Number

**The second one-shot of the series. These aren't going to be posted in any order, so the story will flip back and forth between the past and the present times.**

* * *

" **What's Your Number?"**

 **September 2014**

"So…are you gonna ring the bell?"

"Eventually."

"You know…I think I saw this in an episode of _Friends_ …Phoebe was afraid to meet her father."

"Phoebe's father wasn't even there…he'd run off on his second family too."

"Still…you're acting like Phoebe."

"Thanks, Vee…I really appreciate that."

Case and Viola stood on the porch of a modest looking home in Brooklyn. The outside of the house was painted white, along with the support structure and the overhang of the porch. They stood before a closed security door that was painted black.

They had been standing there for about ten minutes before Viola had finally spoken up, and she added, "And I ask again…why am I here?"

"I don't want people to think I have some twinkie on the side," Case answered in a flat tone.

"I think that only works for guys…but still I think you'd have been fine."

"Need I remind you of the TMZ incident with your son a few months ago?" Case asked.

"Fair point," Viola conceded. "But you already called ahead…all you need to do is ring the bell."

Case hesitated and took a deep breath as she started at the button for the doorbell like it was going to jump out and bite her. She couldn't help but be nervous – this was a person she hadn't seen in _years_ …and she wasn't even sure if she should do it.

But, as Viola pointed out, they were expecting her…Case couldn't exactly bail on them, as the saying went. So, she took another breath and hit the doorbell button, listing to the pleasant little chime as it echoed on the other side of the door as she shoved her trembling fingers into her pockets.

Within a few moments, a tall man answered the door. He had dark brown hair and his blue eyes were eerily familiar. "Cassidy Howlett?"

"Yes…well, Case, but you can call me either," Case said, and at the quiet cough next to her, she added, "Oh, and this is my friend Viola…sorry, I hope it's alright that I brought her."

"That's fine…but before we get down to the nitty gritty," the man stated in a neutral tone, "She wanted me to ask a few questions."

Viola's brows rose, and Case gave a nervous nod from the other side of the door, "Alright…what questions?"

"What's your number?"

"What's my…?" Case thought that was an odd question to ask, especially after her last movie night with Natasha which had an actor that looked surprisingly like Steve…then it dawned on her. "Oh! My number! Twenty-five!"

The man gave a small nod, "Alright, then she wants to know higher or lower?"

"Lower."

His face eased into a smile that was genuine and friendly, another item that was eerily familiar, "Come in, Case. She's expecting you."

Case gave a sigh of relief as he opened the screen, and when he held out his hand she stammered, "Oh, right…sorry, nice to meet you," She shook his hand firmly.

"Nice to meet you too. Richard Proctor…I was surprised you asked to see her."

"I'm…I wasn't…" She took a deep breath, "I didn't even know she was still _alive_ …and when I found out, I wasn't sure if she'd even…"

"Trust me, she was hoping you'd pay her a visit," Richard assured her. "Are…are the others joining you?"

"Not yet…I haven't told them. If she didn't want to see me…I couldn't hurt their feelings like that," Case admitted.

"And I take it Viola is just here for moral support?" Richard asked with a cocked eyebrow.

"Pretty much," Viola gave him a friendly smile as well.

"Well, follow me," Richard said, turning to lead them further into the house.

Viola grasped Case's shoulder, and hissed, "Good _God…_ that looked like—"

"Well of course it did," Case cut her off. "There's bound to be _some_ similarities. After all, Richard's his nephew."

"Ah…see…you didn't tell me that before," Viola frowned at her. "I wouldn't have given you such a hard time if I had known."

Case frowned back, "Yes you would have."

Viola thought for a moment, "Ah you're probably right…"

As the two followed Richard further into the house, the coziness of the place started to calm Case's nerves a bit as she took the place in. She entered a small hallway, with decorative vases and knickknacks scattered about.

"She's this way," Richard said, leading the two down the way to the sitting room off to the left.

Case took a breath and followed him into the room, eyes going to the elderly woman in the sitting in the armchair in the middle of the room.

She had long white hair held back in a thick braid, and she placed her book on the coffee table and stared at her with the same ice-blue eyes she'd fallen in love with on someone else many years ago. "Cassidy Melissa Howlett, it's about damn time you paid me a visit!"

Case released the breath she didn't realize she was holding, and her face broke into a large grin, "Language Becca, you don't want Steve comin' in with a lecture, do you?"

"Please, I'm a grown woman," Becca scoffed, then carefully got to her feet. She opened her arms, "Now give me a hug already."

Case came farther into the room and hugged her, careful not to squeeze too tight. "God, I missed you…"

"I've missed you too," Becca said as she sat back down. As Case carefully sat down on the couch next to the chair, she added, "I've missed all of you." She looked at Viola in the doorway, "And since Case is as horrible with introductions today as she was seventy years ago…who might you be?"

"Name's Viola Miller-Hodge…Case and I met during Captain America's roadshow," Viola said, coming farther into the room and reaching out a hand for the other woman to shake. "And I take it you're Becca…it's finally nice to place a face to the name after all these years."

"Nice to meet you, Viola," Becca smiled as they shook hands. "You kept Case out of trouble during the war?"

"At least until she joined Steve's team of Howling Commandos…then unfortunately it was outta my hands," Viola admitted.

"Yeah…between Steve and Case Bucky and Ryder never got a moment's peace…whether it was Case pulling some stupid stunt or Steve getting beat up in an alley somewhere…"

"Now he gets beat up in the middle of the street," Case pointed out. "And in some cases, on live television."

"Boy never did have a sense of self-preservation," Becca admitted. "But you're also not one to talk, from some of the things I've seen."

Case's cheeks turned pink, "Fair enough I guess…"

"Anyway though…why didn't you ever tell me you were a mutant?" Becca then asked. "We were friends all those years you couldn't have told me?"

"Yeah I know," Case sighed.

"To be fair, she didn't even tell _me_ ," Viola pointed out. "I didn't find out until they went into the ice."

"Look, the only ones here we told were Steve and Bucky…Steve reacted kind of like you," Case explained. "Bucky…not so much."

"Is that why you didn't speak to him for three months?" Becca asked.

Viola's eyebrows went up and she looked at Case, "Three _months_?"

Case gave a small shrug, "We had just started back on speaking terms that Christmas…"

"When did you tell them?"

"Steve found out when we were fifteen…Bucky found out a year later," Case explained.

"Bucky moped around here for weeks before he tried getting her to forgive him," Becca added. "He hated the fact Case was pissed at him. Not to mention any time she came by here to see me he had this weird kind of lost puppy look when Case flat out ignored him."

"And you didn't notice?" Viola asked.

"She was too busy with Malcolm and Walter to notice Bucky."

"Don't say it like that," Case rolled her eyes. To Viola she said, "First I dated Walter, and we got together maybe a week or two after I stopped talking to Bucky…that relationship only lasted about a month…turned out to be an idiot. Didn't date anyone for a month, then started going out with Malcolm."

"Huh…and here I thought you only had eyes for Bucky," Viola said.

"Bucky never gave me the time of day," Case shrugged. "I wasn't going to wait for him forever…he only saw me as a friend, so I went to find someone who didn't."

"She sure did…in the form of Walter, Malcolm, Charles, William, Harold, and George," Becca said.

"Way to make me sound like a slut, Beck," Case rolled her eyes.

"Please…your legs weren't opening for anyone but Bucky," Becca gave an eyeroll of her own.

"Rebecca!"

"Tell me I'm wrong."

Case's cheeks turned red, "That…that's not the point!"

"Besides…that's just the total list," Becca explained to Viola. "Malcolm, Walter, and Charles were all in high school. Afterward, there was William, Harold, and then George was right before Case shipped out with the USO."

"We ran into George and Malcolm…they were serving in the same battalion," Case said. "Bit awkward off the battle field…"

"How'd they take to you dating Bucky?" Becca asked.

"We didn't actually tell anyone we were…fooling around," Case admitted. "Malcolm kinda guessed…but I never confirmed or denied."

"Fooling around?" Becca repeated.

"Can't exactly call what we were doing dating," Case told her. She gave a sigh and looked down at her boots, "I wouldn't call a few stolen moments behind closed tent flaps dating…"

The conversation died rather quickly after that, depression suddenly creeping into the air. It was silent for a few minutes, before Viola asked, "So how 'bout them Avengers? That Tony Stark is something else, huh?"

"He seems like a piece of work," Becca said. She turned to Case, "Do they treat you right? Are they nice?"

"Tony's…well, you're not entirely wrong," Case explained. "But yeah, he's a nice guy, when he wants to be. Natasha's hard to read…but overall a good friend, same with Clint. And Bruce is a sweetheart."

"That's great," Becca said with a smile. "I'm glad you have them...so tell me about some of your adventures…"

* * *

Case's bike pulled to a stop outside of Viola's apartment building at dusk. They got a few odd looks as Viola pulled off her helmet, which were met with a grunted, "What're you lookin' at?"

Case gave a chuckle as she pulled off her own helmet, "It's probably weird for them to see a ninety-six-year-old riding on a motorcycle."

"They can deal…it's one of the more exciting events in my life," Viola rolled her eyes. "You wanna come upstairs for a bit?"

"Nah…gotta head back to the Tower," Case said. "Got a few surveillance camera stills to go over…Steve thinks he has a new lead on Bucky."

"Why didn't you tell her he was alive?"

Case thought that one over for a moment, "Not sure how to breach the topic. Plus, that opens the can of worms for the question 'where was he all this time'."

"Fair…but at some point, you will need to tell her."

"I'm hoping at some point he can tell her himself."

"I'd warn her first…old broads like us don't do well with those types of surprises," Viola pointed out.

"I thought you didn't want me to treat you like you're old."

"Just saying…keep that in mind for the future."

Case simply rolled her eyes at that.

"Also…I was wondering…" Viola hesitated. "Why did you stop talking to Bucky?"

Case shifted from foot to foot, and she said, "A story for a later time."

"Alright…but I'm holding you to that," Viola said. "Can you at least explain the number thing?"

Case gave a small smile, "That's actually something from our childhood. Ryder and I are twenty-five minutes apart…so as a way we could tell that a message was from the other, we'd always say 'What's your number?' If it was twenty-five high, it was from Ryder since he's older. Twenty-five low is me."

"Huh…interesting."

"We thought it was," Case checked her watch, "I really gotta get going…it was nice seeing you Vee."

"Nice seeing you too, Cassidy," Viola said, ignoring Case's scowl as she hugged her friend tightly. "You ride safe, Howlett…don't need a third compilation video of your craziest motorcycle crashes."

"It would be video four, actually," Case admitted sheepishly as Viola released her.

"Again…ride safe," Viola said, heading up the steps to her apartment building.

Case gave her a small smile, before putting the helmet back on and straddling her bike. As she took off down the street, she thought about what she was going to tell Viola about Bucky.

While Steve had accepted their mutations without hesitation, just with anger that he hadn't been told sooner…Bucky's reaction had been quite the opposite…and it had taken Case quite a long time to forgive him for it.


	3. Nightmares and Bad Timing

**The third one-shot of the series. A bit of a teaser if you will…also there's some adult content in it. Not enough to really warrant a warning, but I'm paranoid and like to cover my bases with things.**

* * *

" **Nightmares and Bad Timing"**

 **May 1944**

"Oh yeah…right there…that's it, just like that, baby," Bucky hissed into the night.

The Commandos had just made camp for the evening a few hours before, after another successful mission…and Bucky was _trying_ to keep as quiet as possible.

Steve was currently on watch…and Bucky's visitor was currently nestled between his legs, carefully hidden under the covers of his bedroll.

Bucky moaned in pleasure as she continued her work, as he kept whispering, "So close…keep going baby…"

Unfortunately, as things progressed, Bucky didn't realize how loud he was getting.

"Almost there…so close—"

"Hey Buck, you okay in here?" Steve's voice asked, and suddenly his friend was barging into the tent, lighting a lantern as he closed the flaps behind him.

With a yell Bucky yanked the cover of his bedroll higher on his chest – even though he was still fully clothed in his uniform, "Jesus Christ Steven! Give a man a little warning before you barge in, would you?"

Steve's brows went up as he cocked his head, "Sorry Buck…I just…I heard you moaning, and I wanted to make sure you're okay."

Bucky could feel his companion trembling, and knew she was laughing at him as he gave a sigh, "Yes Steve…I'm fine."

"Are you sure? You look a little flushed—"

"Trust me Steve, I'm okay."

"Okay…I just got a little worried is all," Steve said, with a concerned frown on his face. "Like I said…you were moaning really loudly."

"Oh that…um…it was a nightmare," Bucky stammered, "Horrible, horrible…probably a good thing you came when you did, really, it was that bad of a night _mare_!" He almost screeched the last word, nearly jumping out of his skin as a pair of hands squeezed at his thighs.

Steve's eyebrows went up again, and he eyed him carefully, "A nightmare."

"Yes, Steve," Bucky assured him. "Trust me, I'm fine."

"Okay…well…if you're sure…"

Bucky gave Steve a small smile, "I'm okay pal…now get back to work and let me get my beauty sleep."

"Hate to break it to you Buck, but no amount of sleep is gonna fix that ugly mug of yours," Steve said with a small smirk as he turned to leave.

"Punk!"

"Jerk," Steve threw back at him as he turned out the light and left the tent.

Bucky waited a few moments until he was sure Steve as out of earshot, before throwing back the covers, "Way to almost blow it, Cassidy!"

Case crawled up his body, folding her arms across his chest and smirked, "Hey, I tried…Steve's the one that interrupted."

"I meant about getting caught…did you really need to do that?"

"You were laying it on a bit thick with the nightmare excuse," Case rolled her eyes. "Besides…never knew you had ticklish thighs, Buck."

"Yeah well, now you do," Bucky scowled with a squirm. "And I'd prefer it if you forgot as well."

"Nah, I think I'll hang on to that one for a bit," Case chuckled, "You never know when it may come in handy."

"I just hope you understand there would be consequences if you used that."

"I'll take my chances," Case shrugged it off. She lifted herself up, so she was braced above him with her forearms, "Now…do we call it a night, or do you think you can keep quiet enough for me to finish what I started?"

* * *

Bucky trembled slightly with nerves as he tried to relax into the dark purple sheets.

He was in Case's bedroom in her apartment in Washington DC. It was a cozy little room with white walls, with small tables on each side of her bed which held lamps that gave off a soft orange glow. She had a desk in the right corner across from the bed where her laptop sat next to a large window, her closet door to the left of it tightly closed.

Case had this thing with closets…had since she was a kid, although some of her newer quirks with closets Bucky had to admit was inadvertently his fault…

"Are you sure about this?" Case asked him for the hundredth time, shaking him out of his thoughts.

"Isn't that supposed to be my line for you?" Bucky asked.

"Bucky," Case said pointedly. "You know I'm not gonna hurt you, right?"

"I dunno…you did say you haven't done this since the War—" He ended the sentence with a yelp as Case squeezed his thighs, "Fuck, Case…don't do that!"

"James…do you want a blow job or not?"

"I do," Bucky nodded. "Just…haven't…not since…"

"We can wait if you want—"

"Hey, it's my birthday—" they both looked toward the window and noticed the sun creeping through the blinds, "Okay, morning after…but still, I want this."

"Alright," Case gave him a small smile, and pressed a kiss to his lips, "Your wish is my command."

Case disappeared underneath a cerulean blue comforter covered in gold stars and moons. Bucky gave a sigh of pleasure as her mouth closed around him, his eyes practically rolling back into his head.

He let out a moan as a pounding noise could be heard.

" _Hey Case! You in there?"_ they could hear Steve yell.

Case's mouth disappeared, and she crawled back out of the blankets, this time rolling to Bucky's side as she pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration.

"How the hell does that punk keep _doing_ that?" Bucky groaned, throwing his right arm over his eyes. "And what the hell is he _doing_ here?"

"Keep your voice down, and stay in here," Case said, as the knocking started again. She left the bed and grabbed her iPod from the nightstand, winking at him as she plugged the buds into her ears. She turned toward the door, swaying her hips as she started to sing, _"Oh every night, and every day. A little piece of you is falling away. But lift your face, the Western way, baby. Build your muscles as your body decays."_

"Silverfox _hated_ when you did that," Bucky said quietly.

"That's because she hated Queen," Case said as she paused at the door. "But there's only so many times I can sing _'If I Could Turn Back Time'_ before I completely lost it."

Bucky frowned thoughtfully and sat up until he was propped up on his elbows, "It's a little on the nose, don't you think?"

"Hey even I need a good cry now and then," Case rolled her eyes. "Now if you'll excuse me…I have to rinse and spit before answering…" She winced as Steve pounded on the door one more time. "That…"

Bucky gave a sigh and stared up at the ceiling as Case closed the door behind her. Her voice drifted through the wall, though, and he could hear her singing, _"Toe their line and play their game…yeah let the anesthetic cover it all. 'Till one day they call your name…you know it's time for the hammer to fall."_


	4. No Escape from Reality

**The 4** **th** **installment of the series. I'm not sure if what follows would be historically accurate, but for the sake of this fic we'll say it is…constructive criticism is appreciated, and I don't own Marvel, nor do I own "Bohemian Rhapsody"**

* * *

" **No Escape from Reality"**

 **September 2012**

Tony Stark exited the elevator onto the floor of the common area in the newly dubbed "Avengers' Tower" when he heard the loud laughter echoing off the walls. As he walked further into the room he frowned, wondering who was having the party and didn't invite him.

As he came into view of the couches, he found the Howlett twins sitting on opposite sides of the couch, both doubled over with laughter, while Steve sat between them, looking none too pleased and glaring at the ground with his arms folded across his chest.

With raised eyebrows Tony looked to the screen, and he found a video paused – black and white and grainy with Steve Rogers in a very _old_ Captain America costume with a significantly different shield. In said video, his eyes were locked onto the back of the shield, and his mouth was currently open, frozen mid-word.

"How the hell did they talk you into that, Steve?" Ryder asked, once his laughter had calmed down. "Case I get…any chance to sing and dance she was all for it, but you?"

"Case can sing and dance?"

All three sobered up, and turned their gazes to Tony, shocked he was standing there with them.

"Of course, she can," Ryder said, "It's why we've been calling her the Siren."

"I thought it was because she was pretty," Tony shrugged.

In the past few months since the rest of the Avengers settled into the Tower, he'd never heard the younger Howlett twin so much as voluntarily listen to a song on the radio much less sing or dance.

Ryder pointed to the screen, "See the girl on the end over there?"

Tony squinted at the girl Ryder was pointing at and his eyebrows rose. "Well…I'll be damned. And while we're on the topic, what're we watching?" he asked, hopping over the side of the couch to sit next to Steve.

"Somehow a video of Steve's first performance as Captain America made it onto the YouTube," Case said, grabbing the keyboard and clicking a button.

" _From Hoboken to Spokane…the Star-Spangled Man with a Plan!"_ the girls in the video sang.

"Star Spangled Man with a Plan, huh?" Tony asked with a smirk. He grabbed the keyboard, "What's this? Never before seen footage of Captain America?"

Before any of the others could react, Tony had the keyboard and wireless mouse and clicked on the link.

A grainy video of Steve in the World War Two uniform appeared, and he was giving an interview. Two minutes in, Steve broke out into a wide grin.

" _Excuse me, hey guys!"_ Steve called to someone off camera. _"Come over here!"_

Three familiar faces entered the shot, and Steve said, _"These three are my oldest friends,"_ Steve had said. _"Not to mention members of my team."_

Ryder with significantly shorter and better kept hair – in comparison to the man sitting next to him with shaggy brown hair brushing his shoulders and a few days of beard growth on his face – along with Case whose wavy hair was flying free and hacked off just below her ears, and a third man entered the shot, who's dark hair cropped similarly to Ryder's, all looking very confused and dressed in similar uniforms and combat boots. One of the reporters had snapped a photo, the trio blinking rapidly for a moment.

" _What's this about?"_ the unknown man had asked.

" _News piece regarding America's newest icon,"_ The reporter without the camera explained. _"The people want details about this 'Captain America'."_

" _What do you want to know?"_ Ryder asked with a grin.

"Who's the new guy?" Tony asked as he paused the video. He looked at his companions, whose gazes had gone toward the direction of the elevator. He looked around, seeing Case's seat was empty, "Where did—"

" _Miss Howlett is currently heading to her room, Sir,"_ Jarvis's voice announced. _"She seems rather distressed."_

"Thank you, Jarvis," Tony frowned, and looked toward Steve and Ryder, "What the hell?"

"Bucky," Ryder said, "That's Bucky with us…"

"I wondered…Lord knows my dad never shut up about you guys…him included," Tony said with a roll of his eyes. He noticed the concerned looks on their faces, and asked, "Something wrong?"

Steve and Ryder exchanged looks, before Ryder asked, "Has…has she talked to you about him?"

Steve shook his head, "No…how 'bout you?"

"Not a word," Ryder sighed.

"Have either of you tried talking to her?" Tony asked.

Both gave nods, and Ryder explained, "She doesn't want to talk about him. She'll deflect the conversation to a new topic as soon as she can. Or she'll just leave the room entirely, saying she has something she has to do or an errand to run."

"But you two can talk about him."

"We weren't head over heels in love with him either," Steve told him. "Not that it made it any easier to deal with when he fell…but since we got out of the ice, she hasn't wanted to talk about him. Not in any real detail, anyway."

"But it's been over a year since you guys were defrosted."

"Hence the problem," Ryder said. "We thought maybe if we pulled up the videos…eased Bucky into the conversation we could thaw the ice a bit."

Steve's eyebrows went up as he looked at Ryder, "Really?"

"Yeah I know," Ryder rolled his eyes. "You're the eloquent one…always have been. I just shoot things."

"Eloquent? Bucky was always the charmer of the group," Steve pointed out.

"To the ladies maybe, I was going for more of a public speaking image," Ryder said, then his face morphed into a cringe, "And let's not focus on that part…"

"What part? The fact that Bucky could charm the pants off anyone?" Tony cut in.

Ryder made a gagging noise, "Please! Knock it off!"

"What's his problem?"

"We're pretty sure Case and Bucky had something going on during the war," Steve said, with a slight smirk on his face.

"And Hypno-Hands didn't approve?"

"Far from it…it's just the thought of his precious little sister doing things of an adult nature makes him physically ill," Steve explained.

"Keep it going Steve, next you'll be walking off the Brooklyn Bridge," Ryder scowled at him.

"Promises, promises," Steve rolled his eyes, "You've been saying that since nineteen thirty-eight."

Tony frowned as he listened to them banter, "Did he know what you could do?"

The two friends fell silent, and Ryder asked, "What are you talking about?"

"My dad," Tony clarified. "Did he know about your mutations?"

Tony wasn't quite sure what prompted the question – Howard had never been Father of the Year, but he'd always held Steve and the Howling Commandos in such high regard…but it finally had dawned on Tony that his father never mentioned that Case or Ryder were mutants. In all the stories he'd told of his friends, that had never come to light.

Ryder gave a sigh, "We eventually told him…and Peggy and Colonel Phillips. The rest of the team found out by accident…I think the only other person that knew was a guard in the Hydra Factory."

Steve frowned at him, "What guard?"

"Long story doesn't matter anymore," Ryder shrugged it off. "But he knew, yeah…we just told him to keep it to himself. Our dad drilled it home that we shouldn't really tell anyone about our mutations. Steve and Bucky were exceptions…and both instances were accidents."

"Accidents?"

"Case inadvertently revealed her claws…and thus, surprise!"

"I see."

" _What_ guard in the Hydra Factory?" Steve asked again.

"Does it really matter now, Steve?" Ryder snapped, "It was _seventy_ years ago!"

"It matters because you were so hung up on keeping your mutations a secret, and then you told a total stranger—"

"I didn't tell anyone anything," Ryder scowled. "And truth be told…he probably didn't remember, anyway."

"Why not?"

"Because I told him not to."

Steve frowned, "Wait…you actually…on a _person_?"

"Desperate times called for desperate measures," Ryder told him. "I had to…otherwise he was going to take…" He chewed on his lip but didn't finish the sentence, "Never mind…didn't matter at the end of the day but still…"

"Wait…you were trying to stop them from taking—"

"We're not getting into this now, Steve."

"But Ryder—"

" _No_ Steve."

Their voices started to fade into the background as Tony got to his feet and headed for the elevator, heading for Case's apartment.

* * *

" _Is this the real life, is this just fantasy? Caught in a landslide no escape from reality."_

The doors hissed open as Tony heard the opening lyrics to 'Bohemian Rhapsody'. The elevator doors went into a wide-open living room area, with the kitchen area off to the side separating the spaces with a large island, and Tony headed for the dark blue sofa in the center of the living room, which was mostly empty and scattered with a few cardboard boxes and a few other pieces of furniture – a small dinette set, a few arm chairs and a coffee table.

" _Open your eyes, look up to the skies and see…I'm just a poor boy, I need no sympathy—"_

"Hey Jarvis, can you pause Freddie for a moment?" Tony called out as he entered the room.

" _Of course, Sir,"_ Jarvis said pleasantly.

Case, who'd been sprawled across her couch with the back of her head to the elevator, shot up into a sitting position and scowled, "Don't you knock? Or announce your presence?"

" _Would you like me to do that in the future for you, Miss Howlett?"_ Jarvis asked.

"Please and thank you," Case said, before flopping back down on the couch. "And if you could resume the song please?"

"Not just yet, Jarvis," Tony said, and plopped down on the opposite end of the couch near Case's feet.

"What do you want, Stark?" Case sighed, throwing an arm over her head to shield her eyes.

"Well…first…never would have struck you as a Queen fan," Tony said, "Thought you'd be sticking with artists that would've been around a while ago…like Judy Garland or Ella Fitzgerald."

Case moved her arm and cast a glare at him with one eye, "What? You think because I'm over ninety years old I can't appreciate anything more modern?"

"Just saying…"

"Not like you know me well enough to make that distinction," Case grumbled before hiding her eyes again. "People think they know me _so_ well…"

"Okay, well…tell me something about yourself, Howlett," Tony said testily. When she moved her arm and looked at him in confusion, he added, "We're a team, right? You don't like being judged? Give me something to work with here."

Case sighed and threw her arms over her face once more, "You're just here because they said I don't like talking about Bucky."

"That's not it!"

"Yeah…because Steve and Ryder have really changed over the years," Case said. "They know I don't wanna talk about him and they continue to try and force the issue."

"Hey if you don't wanna talk about your boyfriend then we won't talk about him."

"He wasn't my…" Case sat up with a sigh and chewed on her lip, "Technically, he wasn't my boyfriend."

Tony waited a moment, then asked, "Do you _want_ to talk about him?"

Case frowned thoughtfully as she considered her answer…and then her face crumpled, and she buried her face in Tony's shoulder, sobbing into the fabric of his shirt.

"Shit!" He breathed as she caught him by surprise, before wrapping his arms around her. Another shock for the billionaire, he'd never seen Case fall apart – Case hadn't really been known to show her emotions during the war, or so Howard had said…and in the brief time they'd known each other, he'd never seen anything like this. He rubbed a hand over her back, and awkwardly said, "Alright uh…just let it all out…that's it…"

"He's _all_ I want to talk about," Case whined into his shirt, before she sat up and gave a loud sniffle. She wiped at her face, taking a deep breath to regain her composure, "Sorry about that…I didn't mean…" a fresh wave of tears started rolling down her cheeks, and her lips trembled as she whimpered, "Give me a minute."

Tony cocked an eyebrow at her, "Say Howlett…how long have you been holding onto this?"

Case braced her elbows on her knees as she shoved her fingers through her hair, dark blue nails poked through the brown waves – another clear difference, the hair that had been cut short in the video now flowed down to the middle of her back. Tony hadn't gotten a good look at her fingernails in the video, but he doubted there was blue nail polish back then for her to wear either.

Finally, Case gave a loud, bone-weary sigh, keeping her face hidden as she said, "Probably…seventy years."

"What did you do when he died?"

Case lowered her arms and cast a glare his way, "I _ran_ …alright?"

"You ran?"

"We found Steve sitting in the train car…when he finally said what had happened…I turned on my heel and booked it as far as I could go."

Tony frowned at that, "How far?"

"Far enough into the woods that if I didn't have my dad's sense of smell I would've been lost for a good long time," Case admitted. "And it's not like I had time to process things…everything sort of snowballed after that mission. And I couldn't break down – especially not in a room full of guys waiting for the women to collapse from the stress. And there was my roommate of course, the WAC robot who had the gall to try to make me feel ashamed for being upset because of…" She gave a sigh, "Sorry…you probably don't want to listen to me whine about all this…"

"I asked, didn't I?" Tony pointed out. "Why don't you want to talk about all this with Steve and Ryder?"

Case gave another sigh before getting to her feet. She turned to face him, "They're…too close, I guess. And they get these weird looks on their faces…I know they're trying to be sympathetic, but it looks like…" She waved a hand in the air, trying to find the right word.

"Pity?" Tony supplied.

Case thought that one over, "Yeah…like pity. But that's not the only reason I don't talk about him…"

"Oh?"

Case scrubbed a hand over her face, and more tears filled her eyes and her shoulders slumped as she said, "He's all I can think about…every night, and every day. God Tony I just want him back so badly…I just wanna wake up and have him be there and tell me that this was all a bad dream…" She sniffled and wiped at a few tears that were rolling down her cheeks. "But…it's two thousand and twelve…the war we were in ended _decades_ ago…and Bucky's gone. And if I keep…there's days it hurts so much I can't get out of bed. And I don't know how to make them understand…"

"You need the space," Tony finished after Case left the sentence hanging. "If you keep dwelling on it, it's going to keep dragging you down."

Case gave a nod, "Now how come you get that, and they don't?"

"Well I am a genius after all," Tony smirked. "I take it you haven't gone into that much detail with them though, have you?"

With a sigh, she answered, "No, I haven't."

"You might want to try that," Tony said, getting to his feet. "Now come with me."

Case cocked her head, falling into step behind him as he headed for the elevator, "And where are we going?"

"You'll see when we get there…you sound like you need a good stiff drink."

"I can't get drunk."

"I didn't say we were getting drunk, I said you need a drink," Tony pointed out. As she stepped into the elevator beside him, he frowned, "Really? Not at all?"

"Last time I got drunk Ryder and I raided the basement of the Whip and Fiddle after it had been bombed," Case admitted as the doors closed.

"Why did you do that?"

"No one else was coming for it," Case gave a shrug. "And we had to give Bucky a proper send off, didn't we?"

Tony cracked a smile at that, "I think I'm starting to like you, Howlett."

Case gave a roll of her eyes, "Stranger things have happened."

* * *

The next morning Case found Tony at the kitchen counter in the common area of the Avengers' Tower, wearing sunglasses with his chin resting on the granite counter top.

"Hey Tony," Case said quietly.

Tony gave a snort, "Huh? Wazzat?"

Case cocked an eyebrow, "Were you asleep?"

Tony gave a groan, "I may have been…I don't know…what happened last night?"

Case gave a soft chuckle as she sat on the stool next to him, "Well…you proceeded to show me your personal bar of various assorted liquors…then tried to get me drunk but only succeeded in you getting yourself…'shit-faced' is the term now a days I believe?"

"Sounds about right…"

"I asked you to sing 'Radio Ga Ga' for me…you belted out 'Radio Ga Ga I love you'…then nearly went face-first into the floor."

"Oh God…you mean singing that song wasn't some horrible nightmare?"

"'Fraid not, pal," Case said, clapping a hand on Tony's shoulder.

"How are you not as hung over as me?" Tony groaned, gritting his teeth after her touch jostled him.

"I told you…can't get drunk," Case said, getting to her feet. "Metabolism thing I think…similar to Steve's, only without the serum…my genetics just rock."

"Ugh…I don't think I like you anymore."

"Your loss," Case shrugged as she reached the cabinet. She pulled a mug down from the shelf and helped herself to some coffee from the nearby pot.

"Nope…changed my mind, still like you," Tony announced. "Next time we try a different approach…maybe some different drinks."

Case frowned at him, "You're serious?"

"Yep…I'm sure I can get some stuff from overseas, I'll do some research into the subject," Tony gave a nod, then a small groan, "Just not today…my head's going to explode."

"Told you to quit while you were ahead," Case reminded him as she took her coffee to the elevator, "You're the one that didn't listen."

"Yeah, we'll see how you feel when the shoe is on the other foot Howlett," Tony called after her, not bothering to turn his head to face her.

"Guess we will," Case said as she stepped into the elevator, "See you later, Tony."


	5. A Dash of Overreaction

**The 5** **th** **chapter…I'm still working on the update for "Flashbulb Memories" – having a bit of writer's block on the next chapter. So, in the meantime, enjoy this little moment…constructive criticism is appreciated.**

* * *

" **A Dash of Overreaction…I Assume You Know the Rest"**

 **September 1935**

"Hey…Ryder…"

Ryder Howlett paused on his walk, frowning slightly. He thought he'd heard someone call his name, but he wasn't too sure.

"Over here…on your left…"

Ryder turned around, and looked down the alley, pinching the bridge of his nose as he groaned, "Really, Steve? Again?"

Steve was sitting in a collapsed cardboard box – it looked like someone had shoved him into it. Blood had dried around his nose, his lip was split, and he had a large shiner already in progress over his right eye.

"A little help…please!" Steve grumbled, and his skinny legs flailed as he tried and failed to get to his feet. "I've been struggling with this thing for the last ten minutes."

Ryder walked further into the alley and reached out his hand, hauling Steve to his feet. "What was it this time?"

Steve yanked the box away from his hindquarters, dusting off his hands as he said, "I think they wanted my lunch money."

Ryder rolled his eyes, "Come on, let's get you cleaned up. We'll take you to my place, it's closer."

"I'll be fine—"

"I'm sure you will," Ryder cut him off, throwing an arm around his shoulder to lead him out of the alley. "But I don't need the lecture from your Ma about how beat up you look. The eye's a goner, but at least we can clean up the blood and make you look semi-presentable."

Steve gave a sigh and fell into step beside his friend. "I don't know what's worse…the beating or being stuck in that box…"

"What box?" Ryder asked, and Steve gave him a grateful smile.

They finished the five-minute walk to the apartment building that the Howletts called home…and paused when they saw Bucky sitting on the front steps.

"Uh Buck…you know Case is upstairs, right?" Ryder asked.

"Yeah she uh…" Bucky's right hand was trembling as he ran it through his hair. The brown locks on the right side were a mess – clearly, he'd been doing that for a while now.

"You know, one of these days that nervous tick is gonna make you bald on the one side," Steve said, motioning at the right side of his own head.

"Huh?" Bucky asked, he appeared to be in a state of shock.

"It was a joke…Bucky, what's wrong?" Steve asked.

"She uh…Case…she threw me out," Bucky said, frowning as if the mere idea of it confused him greatly.

"No seriously…what, did she turn the music up and not hear you knocking?"

"No…her exact words were 'get out of my sight before I run you through with these things'…" Bucky blinked at him.

"Oh…" Ryder said hesitantly. "She showed you her..." he wiggled his fingers to indicate what he meant.

"Yeah..." Bucky nodded. "You…you knew about them?"

"Since I was five," Ryder nodded. "Suckers are sharp…you really don't want to catch those in you…" He rubbed at a spot on his back just above his right hip, giving a small wince.

"And you?" Bucky asked Steve.

"Yes, I knew," Steve nodded.

"And neither of you could've filled me in?" Bucky demanded. He shot an angry glare at Ryder, "You got something you're hiding too?"

Ryder clapped a hand over Bucky's bicep, and the boy winced at the grip, "Upstairs, _now._ "

"Ryder—"

"It's not a request," Ryder snapped, and yanked Bucky up the steps, causing the boy to stagger after him, "Steve, move it."

As Ryder dragged him along, Bucky got a good look at Steve's face and frowned, "What the hell happened to your face?"

"Same thing that always happens, now move it," Ryder barked at him.

The trio made their way upstairs and into the apartment, Steve closing and locking the door behind them. They barely caught sight of Case who disappeared upstairs with a slam of a door.

"Shit…" Bucky hissed as he collapsed into an armchair.

"What the hell happened?" Ryder asked.

"I was talking to her about my girlfriend…nothing I haven't talked to her about before," Bucky admitted, running his hand through his hair again. "I just wanted a girl's advice, you know? But I guess I went into too many details or somethin' because next thing I knew she was tellin' me to shut up and her fists slammed on the table…" He curled his right hand into a fist and used his left hand to emphasize, "Then 'whoosh' out these bone-things come."

"And what did you say?" Ryder asked.

Bucky went white, "Uh…that part…look, I didn't mean anythin' by it, I swear…I was just…I didn't know what to say."

"What _did_ you say, James?" Ryder asked in a firmer voice.

With a sigh and another swipe of his right hand through his hair, Bucky admitted, "I asked her what they were…when she said they were bone-claws, I just…blurted out, 'what the hell kinda freak _are_ you'?"

Steve cringed and Ryder face-palmed.

"I tried to apologize…even hollered at her through the door," Bucky went on. "Your neighbors hate me right about now…but Case just ignored me."

"Can you blame her?" Ryder asked.

"Not really no."

The elder Howlett twin scrubbed his hand over his face, "Calling Case a freak…thought you had more sense than that, Barnes."

"I panicked, okay?" Bucky snapped. "I just wasn't expecting bones to suddenly be stickin' out of Case's hands…and I'm pretty sure I've said worse to her over the years!"

Ryder shook his head, collapsing down onto the sofa with his hand covering his eyes. He removed his hand and looked at his friend, "You've never sucker punched her in one of her sore spots though…doesn't matter what you say to Case, what matters is what you're talking about. Calling her a freak because of her claws? Bad move pal."

"I know…" Bucky sighed. He gazed at his right hand that was half way to his face, then curled his fingers into a fist and put it on his knee instead. "The look she gave me…" He looked over at Ryder before asking, "Is that why you wear the gloves? You got somethin' wrong with your hands?"

"There's nothing wrong with my hands, thank you very much," Ryder snapped at him. "Just ask—"

"We'll be here for an hour, just let it go," Steve cut in, finally sitting down on the couch beside him. "He can hypnotize people with his hands."

"Huh?" Bucky asked.

"I can put my hand on someone and I can tell them what to do," Ryder clarified.

"Oh…so…no bone claws?"

Ryder gave a roll of his eyes, "No."

"They've also got super healing too," Steve said. "Watched Case try to cut up a few carrots…sliced her hand right open, and it was gone in seconds."

"Super healing…right…" Bucky gave a weak nod.

"You gonna be okay there, Buck? You look a little pale," Ryder said.

Bucky gave a firmer nod, "Yeah just…still kinda shocking…"

"Gotta admit you're taking it a bit better than Steve," Ryder added, "Poor guy fainted when he saw Case's claws."

"Thanks Ryder," Steve grumbled with a roll of his eyes.

Bucky's eyebrows rose, "You fainted?"

"Not a word outta you!" Steve snapped. "What are you gonna do about Case?"

Bucky gave a sigh, "That…that's a good question…although you may want to wash your face, you've got blood everywhere," He circled around his nose for emphasis.

Steve gave a roll of his eyes and marched upstairs toward the bathroom.

Bucky waited before Steve was out of sight before he turned to Ryder and asked, "Honestly…you think there's any way she'll forgive me?"

Ryder thought that one over, "I don't know."

"Shit…" Bucky flinched. "The look on her face…you'd have thought I actually punched her in the gut physically rather than metaphorically…"

"Just give her time, Buck…that's all I can say."

* * *

"Ryder wasn't kidding…" Steve flinched as he gazed into the mirror of Case's dressing table.

He'd intended to wash his face – but he thought he'd heard Case crying from behind her door and knocked there instead.

When Case answered – after shouting a round of colorful curses at him in French, and after he'd announced it was him and him _alone_ – she kept her face toward the floor and her back to him as much as possible as she resumed her place on her bed.

Her face was now buried in her history textbook, keeping herself hidden as she said, "Your Ma's not gonna be happy you know."

"Yeah, but I had to defend myself…and are you going to put that book down?" Steve asked, plopping down onto the foot of Case's bed. "We both know you _hate_ studying history."

"You've seen my report card, Steve…I should sleep with this thing as my pillow for how much I need to catch up."

"Well if you spent less time staring at…" Steve cut off when he noticed Case's grip on the book tighten, "Never mind, sorry…but we both know that was crying I heard a few moments ago…no use in hiding your face from me."

"Who said I was crying?" Case asked, but Steve caught a slight tremor in her speech.

"Because anytime you cry you try and hide it from the rest of us, like we're going to go on some sort of witch hunt to find out who caused it."

"That's because you _do_ go on some sort of witch hunt to find out who caused it," Case pointed out.

Steve moved to sit next to her on the bed and reached over and put his hand on the book, gently lowering it so he could see Case's face. "There now…that's not so bad," He gave her a small smile.

Case's cheeks were pink and puffy, and her eyes were a little bloodshot. Tears were rolling down her cheeks as she scowled at him, "Yeah right."

Steve sighed as Case reached over to her nightstand and grabbed a box of tissues, wiping the tears away before blowing her nose. "Did what he said really bother you that much?"

"Yes and no," Case admitted. "Look…day in and day out…one girl after the other. And just…I don't know, I snapped I guess…I was wishing he'd look at _me_ that way for once, and when he asked what kinda freak I was…"

"He's really sorry he did that…he said he panicked," Steve told her.

"Wonderful," Case rolled her eyes. "That's _so_ much better."

"Case…"

"Just…leave it alone, Steve," Case gave a sigh. "Look…especially after you found out about… _everything_ …I've been debating on telling him. I thought I could handle it if he reacted badly…I think I would've preferred it if he'd just run off."

"Bucky cares about you too much to do that."

"He called me a freak, Steve."

"He didn't mean it, you know Bucky doesn't think that way about you."

"He called me a _freak._ "

Steve scrubbed a hand over his face, biting back a yelp as he pressed his hand into his sore nose, "Case—"

"Look, I get it that he doesn't see me as a freak for real," Case snapped at him. "But at the end of the day… _that_ was the first thing out of his mouth. He can say he didn't mean it all he wants, and he can apologize for it…but it doesn't change anything. He said it…he can't take it back."

"So, what?" Steve asked, getting to his feet. "You're just going to throw away a ten-year friendship over something petty?"

"Petty?" Case asked, shooting to her feet as well. "You think I'm being _petty_?"

"He apologized!" Steve argued. "He's been apologizing, he's—"

"Yes, I know he's apologized," Case snapped. "The whole damn floor knows he's sorry!"

"Then why can't you just forgive and forget?"

"Because I don't want to!" Case roared at him. She took a deep breath, then said, "I don't want to…because it's not fair. Because Bucky's right, I am a freak! A mutant with bone claws and super healing…and no matter what my dad says…no matter the fact I can pretend I'm normal…I'm not. I never will be. And because at the end of the day…outside of my family, there's always been two people who I'd trust with my secrets…and I feel like the rug's been yanked out from under me now."

"But you can still trust—"

"Can I, Steve?" Case asked. "You…alright, you fainted, but that's it. You asked questions, you didn't call us freaks…you just kind of accepted it without hesitation."

"But Bucky's different…he's not me."

"I know that, Steve…" Case sighed, sitting back down on her bed. "Trust me…I know."

* * *

Bucky was on his feet the second he heard the door close upstairs, excitement blooming in his chest. He had to fight the look of disappointment on his face when he saw Steve was coming back alone.

"What'd she say?" Ryder asked.

"To synopsize…Bucky's a jerk," Steve said. "And she's not ready to forgive and forget."

"But…" Bucky frowned, his heart sinking toward his shoes. "I didn't…Case knows I…she's not a freak!"

"Yeah…she knows," Steve agreed. "But still doesn't make up for the fact that its what you called her."

"But it's _Bucky,_ " Ryder frowned at him.

"That just makes it worse."

"What's that supposed to mean, it's _me_?" Bucky asked. "How do _I_ make it worse?"

Ryder rolled his eyes, "God you're an idiot."

"Ryder, knock it off!" Steve snapped before Bucky could respond. "Look, we just need to wait for this to pass…we've gotten into fights before, and I doubt this will be the last one. But if we don't keep clear heads, it _will_ be."

"I'm not fighting…I'm just saying he's an idiot," Ryder said, shrugging his shoulders.

"Yes, we've established that already," Bucky rolled his eyes. "Any ideas on how to make Case forgive me?"

Ryder finally got to his feet, "That you're gonna have to figure out on your own, bub. We can't help you there."

"But—"

"Sorry Buck, but he's right," Steve admitted. "Trust me…I tried, but she won't budge. You're going to have to figure out a way to win her back."

"But—"

"You know, Steve…it's a bit late but we may have something in the freezer for that eye," Ryder said, heading for the kitchen door.

As his two friends disappeared into the kitchen, Bucky's shoulders slumped, and he gave a sigh as he followed, mumbling, "I am _so_ screwed."


	6. I Could Get Used to This

" **I Could Get Used to This"**

 **November 1943**

Bucky cracked one eye open when he heard the rustling of leaves outside of his tent.

He remained still as he took stock of his surroundings. He was sprawled across a flimsy cot, trying to catch some shut eye – _"Captain's orders,"_ Steve had told him, the punk – and he was otherwise alone in the tent.

The likelihood that the enemy had gotten this far into camp without someone sounding the alarm was doubtful, and Steve was still getting used to his new size, so he stomped around camp like he had anvils strapped to his boots. Ryder had disappeared rather quickly with the blonde dish – Violet…Vivian…Bucky couldn't remember her name for the life of him.

And he _knew_ none of the others would be caught dead sneaking around outside of his tent at this time of night…which left only one person.

"Case, that had better be you or I'm gonna start swinging," Bucky called out.

The shuffling stopped for a moment, then Case appeared through the tent flaps, giving him a sheepish look when Bucky turned on his lantern.

"You know, for a dancer you sure are heavy on your feet."

"Shut up," Case rolled her eyes, avoiding his gaze as she rubbed at her arm.

Bucky gave a sigh and stretched as he sat up, "You can't sleep again?"

"No, I'm sleepin' great Buck, I just wanted to show off my pajamas."

His eyebrows rose, taking in the army-issued pants and jacket Case was wearing. Based on how the pants were cuffed at the ankles, he assumed they were borrowed from someone else. "Case, you're not _wearing_ pajamas…I'm guessing Peggy's clothes?"

Case nodded as she smoothed out the jacket, "Uh…yeah…didn't have a lot with me that would be suitable for staying here…"

"So, you thought my sweater was appropriate," Bucky pointed out.

Case's cheeks darkened in the dim light, "No…I told Viola to grab something else. But we had to move fast and…I had to grab something…"

The lightbulb suddenly turned on for Bucky, _Viola, that's her name…the one with Ryder. Case's new girlfriend…_

Case was still rambling while Bucky had his moment of realization, "I mean…look, I'm sorry I took your sweater, I'll give it back—"

"Case, it's fine…looked better on you anyway," Bucky admitted waving a hand in dismissal. "But why did you have it? I was lookin' for that thing for months."

The blush seemed to be spreading, Bucky could see it covering her whole face and drifting down her neck, "I uh…"

Bucky frowned as she mumbled her answer, and he put a hand to his ear, "I'm sorry, could you repeat that? Not all of us have super hearing."

"You uh…you left it at our place," Case admitted. "It smelled like you…"

"Oh…"

"Yeah."

 _Odd,_ Bucky thought as he cleared his throat, "Anyway…can I ask why you were creeping around outside my tent?"

"I um…just needed some air I guess…"

Bucky gave her a few moments to finish the thought, and when she didn't say anything else, he added, "You wanna try the truth this time?"

"That is the truth," Case frowned.

"Case, I've known you for almost twenty years. The only time you need air at night is when you can't sleep, and you don't want to admit it."

"Look, I should be going," Case stammered, "If someone finds out—"

"Sit," Bucky cut her off, pointing at the empty cot in front of him.

Case gave a sigh and sat down on the creaky cot, "Where's Steve?"

"They've had him in meetings since we got back."

"Damn…and I thought he was busy when he was on tour," Case frowned. She tapped her foot for a moment, "You know…I could get used to the whole superhero thing!"

 _Great, we're gonna play this game,_ Bucky thought as he rubbed at his eyes, "Really?"

"Sure," Case said, getting to her feet. "I'm already kinda like one already. I'm indestructible and I have bone claws! And I have a really great sense of smell and hearing!"

"We don't know for sure if you're indestructible," Bucky pointed out.

"I'm pretty sure I'm indestructible."

Bucky scrubbed a hand over his face, not wanting to continue the argument, "And what do we call you, oh indestructible one?"

Case frowned thoughtfully for a moment, then her face lit up in a grin, "The Siren."

"The Siren?"

"Sure, why not?"

"For starters…they were supposed to be part bird and lure men to their deaths," Bucky frowned, "Why the hell would you want to be called that?"

"Think about it," Case said, "Lure the Nazis in with the voice…or my looks because I _don't_ look like a bird—"

She gave a shimmy with her hips before striking a pose. Bucky tugged at his collar as he said, "No arguments here…"

"Yep, and then _whamo!_ " She quickly curled her arms, releasing the bone claws at the same time, "Get 'em with the claws."

Bucky eyed the pearly-white bones sticking out of Case's knuckles, and said, "You've put some thought into this…haven't you?"

Case shrugged, "A few hours at least…not that Steve will ask me on any other missions but…it's a fun thought."

Bucky cocked an eyebrow, "Killing Nazis is a fun thought to you?"

Case waved her hand in dismissal as she retracted her claws, "Not that…I mean, being a superhero. I'm not naive enough to say that it's all fun and games, especially after what we just went through…but hey, it'd be nice to be a hero for a change."

"I guess it would…" Bucky agreed. "You know what else would be nice?"

Case cocked her head, "No, what?"

Bucky gave her a mischievous smile, then leaned forward and grabbed hold of her, pulling her onto the cot with him.

Between Case's yelp and the creaking of the cot as they both adjusted, Bucky was almost certain they'd get caught. But when nobody seemed to notice, Bucky whispered, "Someone to cuddle with would be nice."

Case blushed, "Buck—"

"Who's gonna catch us? Steve?"

"Well…what about Ryder?"

"I'm sure he's good at cuddling, but Ryder's not really my type," Bucky chuckled, laughing a little harder as Case dug her fingers into his side.

"Jerk!" She hissed.

"Seriously though," Bucky added, turning out the light. "We're both supposed to be sleeping…so lights out."

"Yeah, yeah," Case said as she rolled onto her side, pressing her back to his chest.

Bucky adjusted into a more comfortable position and threw his arm over her, before asking, "Why the Siren?"

"Well, I could've gone for Aphrodite…but sleeping with anyone they meet is more your territory than mine," Case chuckled, then gave a yelp and started giggling, "No…Bucky stop!"

"Take it back!" Bucky demanded, scribbling his fingers up and down Case's side and over her stomach. He threw his leg over hers to keep her in place as he tickled her, "Come on, Howlett, take it back!"

"I c-can't! It's the truth!" Case wheezed through her laughter as she tried to catch Bucky's fingers, but any time she tried he'd move to a new spot, only to make her laugh harder, "C-come on Buck! Please!"

"Nope, not until—"

"For the love of God, Barnes! Nobody cares if you've got a girl in there but the rest of us are tryin' to sleep!" Dugan's voice called out. "Keep it down, would ya!"

"Sorry!" Bucky called out. As he settled back in behind her, "You should probably thank him for that."

"Oh yeah, I'll get right on that," Case mumbled as she caught her breath. "How would that go exactly? 'Thanks for saving me from being tickled to death'?"

"And then it was discovered the indestructible Siren had a weakness," Bucky chuckled quietly. "You tickle her, and she goes all to pieces."

"Good night…James…" Case tried to say in a forceful manner, but it was interrupted by a loud yawn.

 _Mission accomplished,_ Bucky thought with a grin and pressed a kiss into her hair, "Good night, Cassidy."

* * *

"Uh…Buck?"

Bucky cracked an eye open, looking to his left. "Hey Steve…" he said, his voice still rough from sleep.

"Is there something you wanna tell me?" Steve asked, cocking an eyebrow.

Bucky frowned, then looked down at the weight that was resting on his chest.

Somehow in the middle of the night, he'd rolled onto his back. Case was pressed up against his left side with her arm draped across his stomach, his left arm instead of his right now wrapped around her, and her head was resting on his chest.

He gave her a gentle squeeze, "Not much…she couldn't sleep so she snuck in here."

"And…that's it?"

"What do you want me to do, bring down a curtain?"

"No just…" Steve rubbed at the back of his neck. "I know how you feel about her and—"

"Keep your voice down!" Bucky hissed at him, going still as Case shifted. When he was sure she was still asleep, Bucky said, "Steve…just forget it. It's not happening."

Steve's eyebrows went up as he sat on his cot, "And the fact she's curled up around you like an octopus doesn't tell you otherwise?"

"Case gets cuddly when she gets cold, you know that," Bucky shrugged. "I've seen the two of you all bundled up together in the wintertime too."

"Yeah…so I wouldn't freeze to death," Steve frowned. "Like the last time I had pneumonia and the heater busted while you were at work?"

"There were other times," Bucky rolled his eyes.

Steve gave a sigh, "Forget it…I'm too tired to argue."

As he listened to Steve adjust on the other cot, Bucky gently rubbed his hand over Case's back, _It's a shame though, really…_

"What is?"

"Did I say that out loud?"

"Uh-huh."

Bucky hesitated, trying to figure out the right words. "It's just…" he motioned to Case, "Curled up with her…waking up beside her…"

Steve looked over at him from the cot, "What about it?"

With a shrug, Bucky added, "I could get used to this."

* * *

 **And so ends Chapter Six...and with a little insight of where the name "The Siren" came from. Hope you enjoyed, any constructive criticism is appreciated.**


	7. Might Have Missed a Sign or Two

**This is the second part of what I consider the "One Little Slip Trilogy" - Much like the first part to this part of the story as well as the third and final part to this story arc, the title is taken from the song "One Little Slip" by Barenaked Ladies from the movie Chicken Little. Constructive criticism is always appreciated, enjoy!**

* * *

" **Well, I Admit I Might Have Missed a Sign or Two"**

 **October 1935**

"Malcolm Morrison? Really?"

Ryder rolled his eyes, pinching at the bridge of his nose. They walked along the hallways of the hospital, looking for the room indicated by the gum-chewing receptionist a few floors down. "For the thousandth time in the last two weeks…yes, Malcolm Morrison."

"Why Morrison?" Bucky grumbled.

"Well let's see," Ryder said, holding up his hands to tick the items off on his fingers, "Six feet tall, light brown hair, emerald green eyes, amazing sense of humor…and he's actually intelligent."

"Sounds like you want to date him."

"Nah, it's what I heard Case telling your sister when she asked why Case wasn't dating you."

Bucky bristled at that, "I'm six feet tall!"

"I know," Ryder agreed as they reached their destination and opened the door.

"And I'm smart!"

"That's debatable Buck," Steve said in a hoarse voice.

Steve's health had taken a turn for the worse in the last week, so bad that his mother had to rush him to the hospital. This was the first time in the last few days that Steve had been cleared for visitors, so Bucky and Ryder had rushed down to the hospital the first chance they could.

Case hadn't been home at the time, and neither boy had the heart to interrupt – despite what Bucky felt about Case and Malcolm's relationship – and Logan promised to let Case know the second he could.

Despite the insult, both Ryder's and Bucky's faces lit up at the sight of their friend sitting up in bed, both having a sense of relief that Steve would live to fight another day.

"Case out with Malcolm I take it?" Steve added as the two sat on either side of him.

"Yeah…she wasn't home, we came down here as soon as we could," Ryder explained.

"She'll be really upset you didn't let her know," Steve pointed out as he let out a weak cough.

"She'll forgive us," Bucky shrugged it off. When Steve and Ryder exchanged worried looks, Bucky sighed, "Well…she'll forgive _you_ at least."

"So why did you come in here announcing you were smart?" Steve asked, trying to change the subject.

"He's jealous of Malcolm," Ryder said, pulling a deck of cards out of his pocket. "Poker anyone?"

"I am _not_ jealous!" Bucky snapped as Ryder began shuffling the deck. "Case can date whomever she wants to…I just don't see why it's gotta be Morrison!"

"Better than Walter," Steve pointed out.

"Walter was two IQ points from being a potato," Bucky scowled.

"Hence why Case dropped him like a sack of them," Ryder pointed out as he started to deal. Once he'd finished, he put the rest of the deck in the middle on Steve's blanket.

"Plus, from what I hear Malcolm is a great guy," Steve said as he picked up his hand. "He's a straight A student, athletic—"

"So am I!" Bucky snapped.

"Yes, but _you're_ not dating _Case,_ " Ryder rolled his eyes. "Now are you keepin' your hand or are you discarding anything?"

Bucky's right eye twitched as he grabbed two cards from his hand and threw them down, "There, happy?"

Ryder cocked an eyebrow, "I guess we'll see then, won't we?"

Bucky gave a growl of frustration and drew two cards, trying to keep the wince off his face as he saw he had _nothing_ for a winning hand.

When the door to Steve's room opened, they all looked up.

Bucky caught a quick glimpse of red lips and a tight blue dress before he went back to his cards and said, "Sorry, Doll. I think you got the wrong room."

"Really Buck? Forgotten me already?"

Bucky's eyes widened and he looked back up again.

Case's arms were folded across her chest, one eyebrow cocked, and she had a look of irritation marring her face…that had rouge on her cheeks, red lipstick, and a faint dusting of eyeshadow and mascara around her eyes.

Her hair was flowing in soft curls around her shoulders, pinned back and hidden under a gray hat. Bucky's eyes drifted to how the scoop-necked dress hugged her curves, ended at her calves, and was the exact same shade of dark blue as the shoes she was wearing.

If he was being honest Case looked like she'd stepped out of one of his mother's fashion magazines…that Bucky may have occasionally flipped through when he was bored and alone at home…not that he'd ever admit that if his life depended on it.

Still surprised at the image, Bucky stammered out, "Uh…hi Case…"

"Wow…" Steve said, "You clean up pretty good…"

The blush on Case's cheeks was genuine as she gave him a shy smile, and smoothed out her dress, "You really think so?"

"Yeah…Malcolm is a lucky guy."

"I certainly think so," Malcolm said as he came into the room, throwing an arm around Case's shoulders. "You feelin' alright, Rogers?"

Steve shrugged, "I'll live to fight another day."

"That's good…" Malcolm said, then pressed a kiss to Case's cheek. "I'll wait outside for a bit…"

"Okay," Case gave him a small smile as he walked out of the room.

"Why'd you bring Morrison with you?" Bucky scowled as he went back to his hand. He discarded two more cards and could almost _feel_ the glare Case was sending his way.

"I didn't _bring him_ per se," Case said, taking the chair on the opposite side of Steve next to Ryder, "I was out with him. When we got back home Dad said you both came here because Steve was able to get visitors…so here I am. Malcolm offered to bring me down here."

"And he decided to come in with you…even though he barely acknowledges Steve's existence on a good day?"

"He's a _gentleman,_ " Case scowled at him, "He came here to support _me_ because he knows Steve is my friend."

"Hey Buck…can you go get me some water from the Nurse's Station?" Steve asked suddenly. "I think I drank the last bit of it earlier…"

Bucky looked at Steve, noticing the pointed look on his friend's face. Knowing full well the pitcher on Steve's bedside table was almost overflowing, and not wanting to stress out his friend any further, he gently clapped a hand on Steve's shoulder and said, "Sure Stevie, whatever ya need."

He put his cards down and left the room, opting to take a walk for a few minutes. Whatever was going on with Case…Steve didn't need to get caught in the middle, especially not while he was recovering.

"Hey Barnes!"

Bucky had just made it to the end of the hall, and nearly gave another annoyed growl – the last thing he wanted was to spend this time with _Morrison_ of all people.

The young man reached him with ease, "So…that math test huh?"

Bucky rolled his eyes, "We really gonna talk about math, Morrison?"

Malcolm rolled his eyes as well, "We gonna talk about how you were practically drooling over the sight of my girlfriend?"

"I wasn't _drooling_ ," Bucky snapped. "Just…never seen her dolled up like that before. I was shocked."

"Why is that such a surprise to you? Case is a beautiful girl."

"Yes, yes, she is…she doesn't need to be dolled up for that," Bucky told him.

"True…but it doesn't hurt."

"Yeah, I guess," Bucky grumbled, shoving his hands in his pockets as he turned on his heel and stalked off in the opposite direction.

Malcolm followed, shoving his hands into his own pockets, "You got a thing for her, Barnes?"

Bucky scoffed, "Case is like my sister."

"Guys don't drool like that over their sisters…they beat up the guys that look at 'em like that."

The idea of Becca receiving that look flashed through his mind, and Bucky suddenly grit his teeth. "That's an image I didn't need."

"Just sayin'."

"Yeah…but my sister's only eleven…don't gotta worry about that for a while yet," Bucky said, more to remind himself of that than anything else.

"It's gonna happen sooner than you think."

Bucky's teeth went on edge again, and he grumbled out, "Why are you even talkin' to me? I don't like you, you don't like me—"

"Because I care about Case, and you're her friend—"

"In case you noticed, Case and I haven't been friends for a while now," Bucky told him. "She stopped talkin' to me about a month ago."

"Trust me, we noticed."

" _We_?"

"All the guys that thought Case was cute," Malcolm said with a shrug. "Everyone figured it was too dangerous to ask her out."

Bucky cocked an eyebrow, "Really?"

"Well yeah," Malcolm nodded. "Between you and Ryder? There was a bit of fear and intimidation there."

"And now?"

"Ryder didn't beat your ass for upsetting his sister…and after Walter survived to tell the tale we figured it was safe."

"You used Walter as the canary in the mineshaft?"

"Don't say it like that," Malcolm frowned at him. "Walter _liked_ her…he's just dumber than a box of rocks."

"And you?"

Malcolm's eyes narrowed, "What's that supposed to mean? I like her just fine."

 _Stay out of it,_ a little voice was saying in his head. _Don't do something stupid…she already hates you, don't make it worse…_

Bucky's shoulders slumped and he gave a sigh, "Forget it."

Malcolm folded his arms across his chest, studying him carefully. Bucky scowled and was about to say something before the other boy finally shook his head, "God you're an idiot."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean, Morrison?"

With a roll of his eyes, Malcolm said, "Case _misses_ you."

Bucky gave a scoff at that, "Come on, be serious. She barely looks at me, and when she finally says more than two words to me, we start fighting…Steve basically kicked me out of his room because we were about to start going at it again."

"I figured something like that had happened," Malcolm admitted.

"So why in the hell do you think Case _misses_ me?"

"Because she gets that same look you get when she gives you the brush off," Malcolm snapped. "It's like a sad little puppy face…then she goes off in some random language, half the time I'm pretty sure it's gibberish—"

"Does she respond?"

Malcolm frowned, "Huh?"

"If you try to talk to her…does she respond?" Bucky asked.

"Yeah, I say I don't know what she's saying and she says _qu'est-ce que tu veux dire tu ne peux pas me comprendre_?"

"Yep, sounds about right," Bucky gave a snort of laughter. "She and Ryder are both fluent in French. When they get stressed or upset, they switch to it and that's just what they speak…can last for a few hours or a few minutes."

"That explains a lot…"

"Yeah…the more you're around her the more you pick up on that," Bucky explained.

"What is she saying when she says that?"

"'What do you mean you cannot understand me'?"

"Of course," Malcolm sighed. "Got anything to counter that?"

Bucky gave a shrug, "Just tell her, _Je ne parle pas français, retournez en anglais_."

"What's that mean?"

"'I don't speak French, switch back to English'."

"How do I know that's really what it translates to?"

"I'm trying to get back into Case's good graces, not get myself killed," Bucky told him. "I'm not that big an idiot…although when in doubt, just spit it out in English. You say the wrong thing at the wrong time, and she'll go off…" His shoulders slumped, "Case in point."

"And there's the kicked puppy look," Malcolm said as they reached Steve's door. "Look, I don't know what happened…that's between you and Case. But I do know she misses you like crazy, even if she doesn't show it."

Bucky gave a sigh as the door opened.

Case stepped out into the hallway with Ryder, and turned to Malcolm as she said, "Visiting hours are almost up…we should probably get going…"

"Right," Malcolm nodded, and clapped Bucky on the shoulder, "Good talk, Barnes."

Case looked up at him and gave him a ghost of a smile, so quick Bucky wasn't sure if it had been there at all. "Bye Buck…see you at home Ryder."

Ryder just gave a nod at her and the two headed down the hallway to the elevators.

Bucky folded his arms and watched Case go, and he couldn't help but notice the way the dress clung to her curves, "She really is beautiful though…isn't she?"

"I guess so…I thought Dad was going to have a heart attack when she came downstairs in that dress," Ryder admitted. "I admit I almost did…"

"She doesn't need that makeup though," Bucky continued, "The dress is enough, really…not that she looks bad with the makeup. A little goes a long way I guess…"

Ryder folded his arms and cocked his head, "You got a thing for my sister?"

"No, of course not," Bucky snapped at him. "I just…"

Ryder's eyebrows went up, "Just…?"

Bucky shook his head, "Just nothin'…come on!"

Ryder watched Bucky take his seat by Steve, picking up the abandoned cards to fill the remainder of the visiting hours. He shook his head, and he mumbled, "God Becca's right…this is gonna take _forever…_ "

"You coming Howlett? We don't got all night!" Steve called out, having already picked up his hand.

"Coming Rogers," Ryder rolled his eyes, heading back into the room.


	8. I Think We're Alone Now

**Alright, so this is my first ever official songfic…I hope I did alright. I blame "Umbrella Academy" for reintroducing this song into my life and creating a plot bunny that wouldn't leave me alone until I wrote** _ **something**_ **for it…so I hope it turned out alright.**

 **Song credit goes to Tiffany, I own no rights to it, just borrowing it for the time being.**

 **Constructive criticism is appreciated.**

* * *

" **I Think We're Alone Now"**

 _ **Children behave  
That's what they say when we're together  
And watch how you play  
They don't understand**_

 _ **And so we're running just as fast as we can  
Holdin' on to one another's hand  
Tryin' to get away into the night  
And then you put your arms around me  
And we tumble to the ground  
And then you say**_

 _ **I think we're alone now  
There doesn't seem to be anyone around  
I think we're alone now  
The beating of our hearts is the only sound**_

 **February 1944 – Somewhere in the European Theater**

Case shivered in the pale moonlight. She was standing in an empty, circular clearing, all by herself surrounded by hundreds of trees with just the moon for light…not that she _needed_ it. Because she and her brother both carried many of their father's mutations, she was able to see in total darkness if need be…but hey, it was nice to have light, right? For those around her that couldn't see in the dark, anyway…

It was well past midnight, the rest of the commandos had made camp for the night and ducked into their tents.

Case _had_ wanted to sneak away earlier, but the last time she did it she made a comment about turning in early, which once she was in her tent had earned her a few comments from Dum Dum about how women didn't _really_ belong on the battlefield, that they didn't have the stamina or something else that was stupid.

A smile quirked her lips as she remembered the grunt from the punch Steve had given him in response.

Something rustled the leaves of the bushes around her, and Case sniffed at the air, recognizing the scent instantly and giving an impatient huff before folding her arms tighter across her chest, "You're _late._ "

Bucky rolled his eyes as he entered the clearing, dusting himself off. "Steve couldn't sleep. He kept wanting to go over strategies and maps and…" He ended with a loud sigh, pinching at his eyes.

"Is he okay?" Case asked in concern, moving toward Bucky. "I get it…that serum did a lot for him, but—"

"I think we need to keep an eye on him," Bucky admitted. "But he did finally fall asleep."

"Real sleep?"

"As real as he can get out here," Bucky nodded. "Not the 'I'm Going to Roll Over and Pretend to Be Asleep so You'll Go Away Sleep'…which he tried for about ten minutes before I finally told him he either needed to go to bed or I was gonna hit him in the head until he passed out."

"James!"

"Desperate times call for desperate measures," Bucky said with a frown. "You saw how he was after his Ma died…not that I actually would've hit him, but you know what I mean."

"Boy never did know how to take care of himself," Case admitted, heaving a loud sigh as her shoulders slumped.

"Hey, no, don't do that Cassidy," Bucky said, walking closer to her.

"Do what?"

"You've got that look that you're scared for Steve."

"I don't have a look!"

"You've had that look since we were kids."

Case stepped away from him, "So what…same still applies. So, he's not sick anymore…doesn't mean something bad can't happen to him! And this is Steve…he always shoulders more things than he should! Just because those shoulders are wider doesn't mean he needs to carry more!"

"I know…and keep your voice down," Bucky said, stepping farther into the clearing. "You want someone to know we're out here?"

Case shook her head and looked down at the ground, huddling in her jacket, and in a quieter voice added, "Would defeat the purpose of sneakin' out here and freezing my ass off, now wouldn't it?"

"I'll say, it's the first time we've been alone in a month," Bucky rolled his eyes.

"Yeah…coulda used the extra heat in my tent at night," Case added quietly. "I don't like curling up by myself…gets lonely."

Bucky finally reached her and opened his jacket, pulling her close and wrapping her up inside it, hugging her to his chest. He gave her a small smile, "Better?"

Case returned the small smile, then huddled closer, winding her arms around his waist as she pressed her cheek against his chest, listening to his heart beating, "Better."

"Good," Bucky whispered, pressing a kiss into her hair.

 _ **Look at the way  
We gotta hide what we're doin'  
'Cause what would they say  
If they ever knew?**_

 _ **And so we're running just as fast as we can  
Holdin' on to one another's hand  
Tryin' to get away into the night  
And then you put your arms around me  
And we tumble to the ground  
And then you say**_

 _ **I think we're alone now (alone now)  
There doesn't seem to be anyone around  
I think we're alone now (alone now)  
The beating of our hearts is the only sound**_

 _ **I think we're alone now (alone now)  
There doesn't seem to be anyone around  
I think we're alone now  
The beating of our hearts is the only sound**_

 **June 2013 – Hydra Compound, Siberia**

His lips were soft…surprisingly so given the circumstances.

It had started simple enough…a sparring match. Which may or may not have gotten a little heated – Case never could control her smart mouth, and after the morning she'd just suffered through she wanted to let off a little steam…

And maybe she was a _little_ distracted…dealing with Kayla Silverfox made her angry to say the least, and after their meeting, well, she'd wanted to hit something.

 _Destroy_ was the better term…but there was nothing here to tear apart, so she took the next best thing.

Maybe if she hadn't been distracted, she'd have noticed the way _he'd_ been distracted.

She'd hit the ground hard, and he'd pinned her with his body, yanking her arms above her head. As they caught their breath, he mumbled, "I…remember…"

Case blinked at him, "Remember what?"

A familiar smirk crept across his face, "I remember _you._ "

Case didn't have time to ask what he meant by that before he pressed his mouth to hers, and in any other situation she would've put a stop to it right away…but it felt _so_ good.

The Soldier released his hold on her wrists, body pressing hers down into the cold concrete floor beneath them as he opened his mouth to deepen the kiss.

Case gave a moan and tried to pull him closer, hooking her arms under his to shove her fingers in his hair as she wrapped her legs around his waist.

Now his hands were moving – the fingers of his flesh hand trying to slip under the knot she'd tied her hair into while the silver ones tugged at the zipper on her shirt.

Moving on reflexes she hadn't utilized in over seventy years, Case tilted her head to the side as she pressed her body harder into his. The Soldier took the hint and his mouth trailed down her chin and he worked his way up and down her throat.

A distant door slam broke the spell.

"Shit!" Case hissed and moved her legs from his waist to kick at his chest.

With a grunt the Soldier flopped over onto his back, chest heaving as he tried to catch his breath.

"Sorry…someone's coming…" Case breathed, trying to slow her racing heart.

He gave a nod, before he asked, "We…we used to do that…right?"

"Yeah…we did…"

The nearby door opened, and Kayla Silverfox marched in, looking none-too-happy as she took in the sight of the two of them laying on the floor, "What the hell is this?"

"What the hell is what?" Case asked her.

"Why are you laying on the floor?"

"I'm an insomniac and I just got done with a sparring match…what does it look like I'm doing?"

"That…that doesn't even make sense!"

Case sat up with a groan, "I'm tired…I think I wore myself out with that last fight."

Silverfox pinched at the bridge of her nose, "Hit the showers—"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Case rolled her eyes as she got to her feet.

The Soldier was getting to his feet as well when Silverfox yelled out, "Is that a _hickey_ on your neck?"

"It's called a _bruise_ , bitch," Case threw over her shoulder as she headed for the door.

Silverfox cast a glare the Soldier's way, but he just stared back at her with a blank look.

"Dismissed," Silverfox scowled at him.

 _ **Running just as fast as we can  
Holdin' on to one another's hand  
Tryin' to get away into the night  
And then you put your arms around me  
And we tumble to the ground  
And then you say**_

 _ **I think we're alone now  
There doesn't seem to be anyone around  
I think we're alone now  
The beating of our hearts is the only sound**_

 **November 2015 – Washington DC**

"So…uh…I guess that happened…" Bucky said, rubbing at the back of his neck.

"Yes, it did," Case nodded.

They were staring at the remains of her dining table, split down the middle where the extra pieces could be put in. Neither was sure quite what had happened…it had been holding steady for a few moments, then suddenly the thing collapsed underneath them.

"Clearly inferior craftsmanship," Case told him.

"I doubt the manufacturers took into consideration two people would be having sex on it," Bucky pointed out, "Especially when one has a metal arm and the other's bones are covered in metal."

"Then an oversight on their part."

Bucky shook his head, pinching at his eyes as he asked, "That makes…how many things we've broken when doing this?"

"Depends on what you mean."

"Cassidy—"

With a sigh, she said, "Fine…this makes three. I punched the hole in the dishwasher…you broke the handle off the fridge…and now we've broken my table"

"What do your friends say when you tell them about this?"

"If I'm going to make up stories to at least make them believable," Case shook her head, "Except for Ryder…he turns an interesting shade of green before demanding I stop talking."

"Never could deal with that conversation," Bucky agreed.

"Yeah…well, come on," Case said, turning on her heel and walking away.

"Huh? What about your table?"

"I can replace a table anytime," Case shrugged, not turning back to face him. "But I only get you _alone_ for a couple more days…so to the bedroom, _Mon amour_."

"And how are you gonna explain it when we break the bed?"

"How 'bout we cross that bridge when we come to it? Now are you in or out?" Case asked, disappearing into her bedroom.

Bucky looked at the remains of the table, then gave a shrug, calling out, "Right behind you baby!"

 _ **I think we're alone now  
There doesn't seem to be anyone around  
I think we're alone now  
The beating of our hearts is the only sound**_

 _ **I think we're alone now (alone now)  
There doesn't seem to be anyone around  
I think we're alone now  
The beating of our hearts is the only sound**_

 _ **I think we're alone now (alone now)  
There doesn't seem to be anyone around  
I think we're alone now (alone now)  
The beating of our hearts is the only sound**_

 _ **I think we're alone now (alone now)**_

 **January 2016 – Bucharest, Romania**

"I think I'm dying…"

Bucky rolled his eyes, leaning against the counter, "You're not dying Cassidy."

Case looked up at him from where she sat on the sofa, wincing slightly before grabbing at her neck, before giving another yelp of pain, "Then what do you call this?"

"Healing."

"I've healed before."

"Non-accelerated healing then."

Case lowered her hand, closing her eyes as her strained muscles screamed in protest, "Fuck me…"

"I'd like to, but I think I _would_ actually kill you if I tried."

"Fuck off…"

Bucky couldn't help but laugh at the situation. He knew he shouldn't, it wasn't a laughing matter.

Case was covered almost head to toe in various bruises, her knuckles were raw and bleeding and covered in gauze until they scabbed over. Her muscles were pulled to their maximum, she was lucky she hadn't broken anything – if she didn't have the adamantium covering her bones she probably would have.

"This is _your_ fault you know," Case grumbled, trying to relax into the cushions.

"Really? Do tell," Bucky said, walking around the stove to sit down next to her.

"Do I really need to?"

"Well, let's see," Bucky pointed out. " _You_ knew you weren't healing properly, still extended the claws. _You_ knew something was wrong, and _you_ still went into battle against that giant metal monstrosity—"

Case rolled her eyes and flipped him off with a finger that still had a purple nail.

"When did you smash your hand?"

"Fuck if I know," Case said.

"But back to my original point…how is any of this my fault?" Bucky asked. "Sounds to me like you made the decision to fight on your own…now you gotta deal with the consequences."

"I hate you."

"You love me."

" _Hate._ "

Bucky pulled a pillow into his lap, "Come here."

Case gingerly moved so she was laying across the couch, curled up slightly and resting her head on the pillow in his lap.

Bucky gently threaded the fingers of his right hand through her hair, "Better?"

"No," Case said with a pout.

"Need the bucket again?"

"Seriously, I hate you."

Bucky shook his head as he kept scratching at her scalp, relaxing slightly when he felt the tension start to drain away from Case.

At least until her breath hitched. She held her breath for a few seconds then exhaled slowly, taking another breath and letting it out just as slowly.

He grabbed the bucket and had it in front of her before she let out a struggled "Buh!"

Then he twisted her hair into a knot as Case's face disappeared into the bucket, everything she'd eaten that day coming back up for an encore.

As the rant in French began, Bucky gave another laugh as she lifted her head and told her, "It's a bit late for that demand, Cassidy."

Case's face dropped another shade and her face disappeared into the bucket again, cutting off any retort she would've had.

Bucky reached over and grabbed one of his gloves from the counter, slipping it over his metal hand. He grabbed Case's hair with the left and rubbed his flesh hand up and down her back as carefully as he could.

"Fuck I hate this…" Case mumbled, putting the bucket on the floor by the couch before flopping back down onto Bucky, earning a grunt from the former assassin.

"Want a cracker?" Bucky asked helpfully. "They're supposed to help with nausea."

"I'm not even sure if I'm done with _this_ round," Case said tiredly.

With a sigh, he added quietly, "I'm sorry, Cassidy."

Case gave a scoff, "Don't do that, Buck. You've done nothing to be sorry for."

"But—"

"I'm just cranky…and nauseous…and sore," Case grumbled, shifting to get comfortable on the couch. "Not used to healing at this rate…everything hurts, and I don't like it."

"Well…there's one silver lining to all of this."

"What's that Buck?"

Bucky gave a weak chuckle, "We're finally alone now."


	9. The One Mistake

**So, it dawned on me recently, that while I've been having severe writer's block for this story, I also haven't updated in about a month…thus it made me want to get this newest chapter finished.**

 **This is the final installment of the "One Little Slip" Trilogy – song does not belong to me, song credit to Barenaked Ladies for that one.**

* * *

 **"The One Mistake that Seems to Follow Me Around"**

 **December 1935**

Malcolm Morrison was not an idiot, he was rather smart if he did say so himself.

He knew this idea was beyond idiotic…there was no other question about it. He knew the rumors regarding Case, the _real_ reason no one wanted to date her.

Well, that wasn't entirely true. Plenty of the guys wanted to date Case…it was just they all saw how she looked at Barnes. They'd thought Walter was an idiot because he was stupid enough to ask her out. But she'd told him yes…granted, it hadn't lasted long, everyone who'd had a conversation with Walter knew he wasn't the brightest crayon in the box.

So, Malcolm had tried his luck. He'd liked Case for a while – who wouldn't? She was a beauty, slim but curvy, gorgeous blue-green eyes, soft wavy hair…what wasn't there to be attracted to? And that was her _without_ makeup…when she took the time to put some on, it made the whole picture even better.

What he hadn't realized at the time was that he'd come into the middle of a standoff between Case and Barnes, and unfortunately it looked like Steve and Ryder were caught in the middle, if the behavior he'd seen when they'd visited the sickly kid in the hospital had been any indication.

And while every instinct Malcolm had was telling him to leave it be – he'd be helping his competition for Case's affections after all, any idiot knew it would have been better to leave the wedge between them – he wanted Case to be happy. And with this…whatever this was…between her and Barnes still in place, Case _wasn't_ happy.

So, he'd asked what happened between the two of them. Case hadn't gone into too many details…but he knew Barnes had run his mouth about something, and while he felt terrible for it, Case refused to forgive him. A _petty_ argument was ruining all of this…and frankly, Malcolm couldn't sit by and watch it any longer.

"Is there anything I can start you off with?"

Malcolm blinked and was pulled from his musings by the blonde waitress, "Just some water, please?"

"Alright…are you ready to order or do you need more time?"

"I'm waiting for someone, actually," Malcolm stated, "A few friends…"

"Alright," The waitress said again, and walked away to get his water.

Malcolm checked his watch, sighing when he noticed they were ten minutes late. He looked outside, seeing the snow starting to fall. _Maybe I shouldn't have done this…I should've gone to them,_ he thought with a cringe.

"C'mon Ryder, we're already late!" A familiar voice said near the door.

"I'm comin', I'm comin'!" The second voice grumbled.

Malcolm gave a sigh of relief and relaxed in his seat, _Progress at last._

Steve Rogers slid into the seat across from him, dusting snow out of his hair as Ryder Howlett sat down beside him.

"Thanks for meeting me here," Malcolm said as a greeting. "Think of this as a business meeting gentlemen. Order anything you like, food's on me."

Once the waitress had returned and orders had been placed, Ryder spoke up, "So why did you ask to meet us here?"

 _Straight to business, I like it,_ Malcolm admitted to himself as he said, "What happened between Case and Barnes?"

Steve and Ryder exchanged worried looks, "Well…you see…there was this fight—"

"Never mind," Malcolm sighed, "Do you know of anything that could get them back together?"

"Back together?" Steve repeated with a cocked eyebrow.

"Look, she misses him," Malcolm told them. "And…I care about her, I want her to be happy. And if getting Barnes back into her life will make her happy then that's what needs to happen."

Ryder sighed, "That's a cute idea and all…but it's between the two of them. And really, it's on Case…Bucky made a comment that really hurt her feelings and she won't move past it, no matter how much he apologizes. I personally think she just needs to slug him in the face and move on."

"Hey, that's a lady you're talking about," Malcolm frowned at him.

"A lady with a mean right hook," Steve pointed out.

"Case really isn't the flouncy dainty girl you think she is," Ryder explained. "Given the choice she'd rather put on a pair of pants and play a game of baseball in the streets with the rest of us."

"How stupid do you think I am?" Malcolm asked, straightening his shoulders in annoyance. _Do they really think so little of me?_ "Do you really think that's all I see when I look at her? I _know_ Case is more than makeup and a pretty dress…it's one of the things I like about her. She _occasionally_ likes to put on a dress and get dolled up, but she's doing it on her own terms, because _she_ wants to. She's not trying to look like she walked out of one of those stupid magazines…I guess I'm in the minority, but I find it refreshing."

"Plus, Case would look hideous if she tried to make her eyebrows look like one of those women," Steve added with a cringe.

"Oh, the really thin ones?"

"Yeah."

"Gross," Ryder wrinkled his nose.

"My point exactly," Malcolm told him. "So…get Case to slug Barnes…it's a good start but I had hoped it wouldn't come to bloodshed."

"Lock 'em in the same room until they finally hash this shit out?" Ryder asked.

"Better plan…"

"And how are we gonna get them in the same place?" Steve asked. "As soon as Bucky steps into your place Case will disappear out a window if need be, and she hasn't been to my place since the fight began. And there's no way she's going to—"

"Why can't we try at Barnes' place?" Malcolm interrupted him. "Doesn't his family always have a Christmas party every year?"

"Well yeah, but I assumed Case wasn't going to show up this year," Steve admitted.

"Nah, Dad would make her go, at least to be polite to his parents," Ryder told him.

"Alright, so we have the where," Malcolm said. "Now the rest."

"Getting Bucky alone won't be much of an issue…for the younger crowd it's really just us anyway at those parties," Ryder admitted. "He'll take any excuse to get away from the boredom."

"Now that leaves Case…because she if she wants out, she'll be heading for the door, not somewhere with us," Steve told him.

"Any suggestions?"

"We'll need Becca's help," Steve said, "Case'll do anything for Becca."

"Okay, we'll talk to Becca," Ryder confirmed.

* * *

"You want to what?"

Eleven-year-old Becca Barnes sat on the front stoop of their building, arms folded in frustration as she stared at the three of them.

"We wanna get Case and Bucky alone to have them hash out this stupid thing and end the fight," Steve told her.

"I get that…" Becca nodded, "But why in the world did it take you idiots three _months_ to come up with that plan?"

"Err…" Steve bit his lip, and looked Malcolm and Ryder, who also looked rather dumbfounded at the question as well.

With a dramatic sigh, Becca said, "Never mind…I'm in. If anything, so Bucky will stop moping over losing Case to begin with. Anyone wanna tell me what the fight was about?"

"What did Bucky tell you?" Steve asked.

"Just that he was an idiot and said something stupid," Becca shrugged. "I remember saying that yes, of course he was, but what was the cause of the fight…he just gave a sigh and walked away. Rather disappointing to be honest…"

"Alright…so you're in, right?" Malcolm asked.

"Yeah…but you're her boyfriend," Becca asked, "Shouldn't you want Bucky to stay away from her?"

"Bucky's her friend, I want her to be happy," Malcolm frowned at her.

Becca frowned at him, then looked at Steve, "Case sure falls for dumb ones, doesn't she?"

"Becca!" Steve snapped as Malcolm gave an indignant squawk.

"Just sayin'…alright, so this is what we're going to do…"

* * *

Case knew she'd been had the second the door closed behind her.

It was the Barnes Family's annual Christmas party, and Case had been doing a fair job avoiding Bucky, sticking close to her father as the night wore on, taking time at the refreshment table when she got _too_ bored.

Malcolm had come with them of course…but he seemed distracted all evening and wasn't making very good conversation either.

So, when Becca had asked her to come upstairs, Case had been so eager for an escape she'd agreed without hesitation. In retrospect though, Becca's question should have been the clue – _"Come upstairs with me Case…I want you to show me a few makeup tricks…"_

The girl had made no indication she was interested in makeup before, so the idea of a sudden interest should been cause for concern.

"Becca! What the hell!" Case snapped, going for the doorknob. It didn't turn, someone was holding it tightly. "Open the door!"

" _No can do, Case,"_ Becca said from the other side. _"This is for your own good!"_

Case grumbled and plopped down on Becca's bed, sighing as she waited.

It wasn't long after she heard a small commotion on the outside of the door, and it opened again.

Case was on her feet, but the door opened just wide enough for someone to be thrown in and then snap shut again.

"Dammit that hurt you idiot!" Bucky snapped through the door, gripping at his arm.

" _Get over it, meatball!"_ Ryder barked through the door.

"Of all the guys they lock me up with, it's _you_?" Case asked, bringing Bucky's attention to her.

" _Of course!"_ Becca's voice called from the other side. _"This fight has gone on long enough…it's time to end it, once and for all!"_

Case rolled her eyes and opened her mouth to speak.

" _And we're not lettin' you out until you do!"_

"Damn," Case hissed, plopping back onto the bed again.

Bucky folded his arms and leaned back against the wall, "She's right you know…"

"Right about what?"

"It's stupid to keep fighting…"

"You made your point very clear," Case rolled her eyes.

"What did you expect from me, Cassidy?" Bucky demanded. "Yes, it was the wrong thing to say at the absolute _wrong_ time…but for the love of god you had _bones_ sticking out of your knuckles!"

"Yes, I did," Case snapped, and she released the claws. "I still do…I can retract them, and I can send them out…they're not going away, they're permanent."

Bucky hesitated, then motioned to the bed, "May I…?"

Case retracted the claws on her left hand and motioned to the space beside her, "Not like I can stop you."

He took a seat and motioned to her right hand, "Can I see 'em?"

Case looked at her right hand, before lifting it and easing it toward Bucky, "Might as well…kinda like when Steve saw 'em he—" She hesitated as she gave a shiver when Bucky ran his fingers down the length of one of the claws. "Touched 'em too."

"What was that?" Bucky asked with a cocked eyebrow.

"Feels weird," Case admitted. "Kinda like…" She instantly retracted the claws when Bucky repeated the motion, and hissed, "Quit it!"

"Kinda like when I do this?" Bucky grinned at her, before pinching at her lowest rib.

Case gave a yelp as she shoved his hand away, and scowled as she rubbed at her side, "You're such an asshole, you know that?"

"Yeah, but you love me."

"I hate you, big difference."

"You love me, and you miss me."

Case's face finally fell from the scowl to a simple frown, "Yeah…I guess I do miss you."

"I am sorry that the first thing I called you was a freak," Bucky admitted. "Claws or no…I really don't think that way about you." When Case didn't look at him, Bucky asked, "Do you…you really think of yourself as a freak?"

Case gave a sigh, then said, "Do you have your pocket knife with you?"

Bucky patted his pockets then pulled it out, handing it to Case, "Why do you want it?"

Case pulled it open, and opened her left palm, "This is why."

Bucky jumped as she sliced her hand open, "Cassidy—"

"Hush…just watch," Case said calmly.

Bucky watched as the cut on Case's hand sealed itself within seconds, the only evidence left behind was blood that had come from the initial cut.

"I can do that," Case told him, closing her hand into a fist and lowering it. "I can break a bone, and all I need is someone to reset it and I'm back to full function. I've got my bone claws…" She sighed, grabbing the box of tissues from Becca's night stand and wiping away the blood in her palm, "Remember in history class a few years ago…we were studying about the Civil War…and you said one of the pictures looked like it had my dad in it?"

"Yeah…it was a weird likeness," Bucky admitted, rubbing at the back of his neck.

"That _was_ him," Case told him. "He was standing next to my Uncle Victor in the picture…"

"But that would mean your dad is…" Bucky didn't want to the math, but at Case's glare he added, "Man looks pretty damn good for his age…"

Case rolled her eyes and got to her feet, "And yet you ask why I think of myself as a freak."

"You're different sure…I wouldn't say a freak," Bucky got to his feet as well, and added, "Not in rational thought, anyway."

"Sure Buck," Case said, folding her arms across her chest.

"Hey, I told you, I'm sorry I said that," Bucky frowned. "I wish I could take it back. I don't see you as a freak, Case…maybe a little afraid I'm gonna piss you off and get stabbed one day—" He took it as a victory when Case's mouth quirked up in a small smile, "—but afraid _of_ you? Seeing you as something different? Not a chance…you're still Case Howlett, the same girl I met after you saved Steve from getting beaten up by Joey Rabini—"

" _She did_ not _save me!"_ Steve's voice could be heard through the door.

Both cringed at the loud shushing sound that came from Ryder.

"So much for privacy," Case gave a weak chuckle.

Bucky shook his head, then gave her a hopeful smile, "Am I forgiven?"

Case looked at him for a moment, "Not completely…but we'll get here."

"I can work with that," Bucky said.

Case gave him a small smile, and opened her arms, "Come here."

Bucky hugged her close as Case wrapped her arms around him. He pressed a kiss to the crown of her head, "I missed you, Case."

"I missed you too," Case said softly. She finally looked up at him, giving him a small smile as she stared into his eyes.

Bucky adjusted his hold on her, returning the small smile and his eyes drifted to her mouth for a moment.

He was about to lean in when Becca's voice called out, _"So is the fight over or what?"_

" _Becca!"_ Steve and Ryder grumbled from the other side.

"Right…they're out there," Case mumbled.

"We should probably—"

"Right…" She stood up on her toes and pressed a quick kiss to his cheek, then stood flat again, "Oh, and Buck?"

"What?" He frowned, then jerked back with a yelp as her fingers scribbled up his sides.

Case flashed him a cheeky grin as she opened the door and Steve and Ryder fell to the ground at her feet, "Please boys…I'm just a simple girl, no need to fawn over me."

"Please tell me the fight is over," Steve said, sitting up and rubbing at his elbow. He was holding an empty glass in his other hand.

"The fight's over," Case confirmed.

"You didn't realize that already? You both have been listenin' since we got in here!" Bucky pointed out, folding his arms. He noticed Ryder didn't have a glass, "What about you?"

"Ryder doesn't need a glass," Case said. "Special hearing comes with the territory."

"I see…"

"Now if you'll excuse me, I'll be off finding my boyfriend," Case told them, slipping through.

Bucky followed her out before leaning back against the wall with his arms folded, watching Case disappear down the stairs.

"It was just us…Becca and Malcolm kept watch downstairs to make sure nobody else overheard," Ryder explained.

"You're both punks," Bucky rolled his eyes.

"Maybe so…but at least things can go back to normal around here," Steve said with a sigh of relief.

"Yeah, guess so," Bucky agreed.

"Alright well…I'm hungry, see you both downstairs," Ryder said, grabbing the glass from Steve's hand and disappearing downstairs as well.

Steve reached up to clap Bucky on the shoulder, "Well, come on Buck, before Ryder eats—"

"She's still with Morrison," Bucky said quietly.

Steve nodded, "Yeah, even _he_ wanted to fight to end…he knew how much Case missed you and wanted to make sure everything was fine."

"But…why?" Bucky asked. "Why would he do that?"

"Because he's a nice guy, Buck," Steve pointed out. "I think that's what it boils down to…he wants Case to be happy."

"Yeah…but _I_ could make her happy too," Bucky mumbled.

Steve frowned before looking to Bucky, "What are you saying?"

Bucky shook his head and pushed away from the wall, "Nothing…never mind. Come on, let's go downstairs."

"But Bucky—"

"Come on, before Ryder eats all of my Ma's cookies," Bucky cut him off. "You know how much he likes her Christmas cookies."

With a sigh of defeat, Steve nodded and watched Bucky walk down the stairs. "So much for things going back to normal…"

* * *

 **June 2014**

Yes, Malcolm Morrison was an idiot. He knew it, he always had. He knew it when he asked Case to the movies one Saturday, he knew it when he told Bucky she missed him.

He knew it when he made the hardest decision of his life – at that time at least – and told Case it was over between them. He knew her heart was never his and was never going to be. And while he loved Case and would have loved to build a life with her, he knew she would never feel the same way about him.

That's why when he saw the man standing in the Smithsonian's Captain America Exhibit, gazing at the picture of Case and Barnes looking cozy during World War Two, he knew exactly what he was doing when he used his cane to walk over to the man.

Pushing ninety-seven, using the cane helped him with a limp he'd received from a car accident about fifteen years before, he came to stand beside the man whose eyes were glued to the image.

"I took one look at 'em and knew," Malcolm began without hesitation. "Those two were doin' somethin' behind closed doors. Hell, it was about damn time."

The man didn't respond, but Malcom could see his reflection in the glass, blue eyes moving over the words printed on the display.

Malcolm gripped the handle of his cane tighter, he didn't like the look in those eyes. He wasn't expecting trouble, oh no, he was just worried about what those eyes had seen that made them look so dead and haunted.

"All that time they wasted…I once asked him, you know, if he had a thing for her," Malcolm added, trying to shake the uneasy feeling. "He said he didn't…but I think he did, and either he was lying to himself or didn't realize it then."

His new friend didn't respond, but the way his eyes locked onto his in the reflection, Malcolm knew he'd gotten his attention.

"Pity about Cap's uniform though…I work security here, a few days a week. I had to beg the bosses to not fire my buddy. Steve Rogers was a resourceful son of a bitch, don't let anyone tell you otherwise."

Still no response, but those eyes still watched him.

"It's my day off, but I like coming down here…I remember Rogers from when he was a skinny thing. If you'd have told me what he would become…" Malcolm chuckled, "Muscle wise, I'd have said you were crazy. But Rogers was always getting beat up, always trying to defend some girl's honor…you had to give him credit for that."

It was too far away, but Malcolm almost thought he saw a flicker of recognition in those eyes.

"Anyway, back to those two," Malcolm added. "You know, she comes in a few times a week. Doesn't really come this way though, she just looks at the mural devoted to Barnes over there…watches the videos of the interviews. Sometimes she smiles, sometimes she looks like her heart's been ripped out…she misses him like crazy, you know."

This time, the man moved, just to turn his head to look back at the mural.

"She's not over there, today's not a day she comes to visit," Malcolm told him as he turned back to the picture. "She keeps a pretty consistent schedule."

This time he got a hum of acknowledgement, so he thought that was progress.

Malcolm looked at the picture, maybe it was because he knew what he was looking for, maybe because he'd known them before all of it went down…but he could see the love they had for each other in the way they looked at each other in the photo.

"Hardest decision I ever had to make was letting her go," Malcolm admitted. "Hell, if I thought I'd had a chance, I'd have bought her a ring and asked her to spend her life with me."

"What stopped you?"

Malcolm's eyebrows rose, and he frowned as he turned to face him, "Say that again?"

The man turned to face him, messy brown hair tucked under the ball cap and cheeks covered in a few days of beard growth, haunted blue eyes filled with a little more recognition than before. His voice was rough, like he didn't speak often, when he repeated, "What stopped you Morrison?"

Malcolm gave a chuckle, "She's in love with _you,_ Barnes. She was in love with you seventy years ago, and she's still in love with you now."

Panic suddenly washed over the man's face, "I-I'm not—"

"Not him?" Malcolm asked, jerking a thumb in the direction of the memorial. "Maybe not…or maybe you're just not the man you think she's expecting."

Barnes blinked in confusion, "I…I don't know."

"When you figure it out, I'm sure you'll know where to find her," Malcolm said, and checked his watch, "Well, my daughter's comin' to pick me up in a few minutes…I hate to cut this short, but I've got to head out."

As he turned away, he made it a few steps before the man asked, "What makes you so sure?"

Malcolm turned back, "Say that again?"

"What makes you so sure I'm him?" He pointed at the memorial.

"What's my name, son?"

"Malcolm Morrison," he said confidently.

"And when did I give you my name?"

Confusion again washed over Barnes' face, and he didn't have an answer.

"Like I said…when you figure it out, you know here to find her," Malcolm said, and raised his hand to give him a salute, "Good luck Sergeant."

* * *

 **And that's wrap, for now…Malcolm Morrison may return someday…but for now, this is his stop. I hope you all enjoyed this latest installment of Misadventures, as always constructive criticism is always appreciated, and I will see you in Chapter Ten.**


	10. The Ammunition Handed Over

**As I started developing this story – before "Flashbulb Memories" was officially started and all of it was still just pieces of an overall narrative, one thing I wanted to create was a close friendship between Tony and Case…this one may actually turn into its own set of one-shots, I'm not sure yet, it's an idea that came to mind as I was writing this chapter…its shorter than normal, but I hope you all enjoy it and with that I shall get back to work on Chapter 7 of "I'd Rather Laugh with the Sinners than Cry with the Saints"**

 **As always, don't own the movies mentioned…constructive criticism is always appreciated.**

* * *

" **The Ammunition Handed Over on a Nissan Skyline"**

 **May 2013**

" _That's the Brian O'Conner School of Driving right there, baby!"_

Tony Stark left the elevator, heading for the refrigerator in the Avengers' Tower common area. He barely cast a glance at the television as he made his way across the room and grabbed a can out of the fridge, popping the tab and taking a long drink as he headed for the couch.

Case Howlett was glued to the screen, watching the scene unfold, her arms folded with her right thumbnail between her teeth as Tony took the seat beside her.

"Enjoying the movie Howlett?"

"It's pretty good," Case nodded at him, barely paying any attention to him.

"Never pegged you for a car girl, Howlett."

"The Evo is nice, but I'm more interested in the cute blond driving it," Case admitted.

"Really," Tony said as a small smirk formed on his face.

"Saw him in a towel at the beginning of the movie, thought hey, might be worth a shot," Case shrugged, "Gotta admit, I'm not disappointed."

"Tell me…do you even know what an 'Evo' is?"

"Don't care as long as he's driving it," Case said. Then she blinked at looked over, a frown forming over her face as she said, "Hey Tony…"

Tony chuckled as he took another sip from his can, "So, you got a thing for Brian O'Conner? Or is it Paul Walker himself?"

"Shut up Tony," Case grumbled, her cheeks going red as she went back to the movie. "Although the color of that car doesn't do anything for me…I liked the Skyline he was driving at the beginning of the movie better."

"So, you _do_ like the cars?"

"Don't know a thing about 'em but I can still think they look nice," Case rolled her eyes.

"Howlett you can't even pick an Evo and a Skyline out of a lineup, can you?"

"We've already established I wasn't watching this movie for the cars, Stark."

They sat in silence for a few moments, watching the movie before Tony added, "You know…this is just the second movie. There's six of them total…the newest one is coming out later this month."

Case gave a thoughtful hum at that information, "So…that means there's four others I've gotta see before I can watch that one?"

"Yep, and don't worry, Brian O'Conner lives to fight another day in all six," Tony said. Then frowned thoughtfully, "Well…except for _Tokyo Drift_ …but we're not gonna talk about that one yet."

"What's wrong with _Tokyo Drift_?"

"Trust me…when you see it, you'll know," Tony explained. He looked back up at the screen, "How 'bout Rome? Does he do anything for you?"

Case cocked her head at the screen, watching as the character took off his shirt to smash a window, "Nice physique…too much of an asshole for my personal tastes."

Tony turned toward her again, "Really?"

"My first boyfriend was all looks, no substance," Case explained. "Total sweetheart…but dumber than a box of rocks. Couldn't have a conversation with him without getting a confused look from him."

"Ouch."

"Yeah…"

They sat in silence for a few moments, before Tony asked, "You never did answer my question."

"What question?"

"Are you in it for O'Conner or Walker? I mean, I get it one's fictional, but still—"

"Shut up Tony."

* * *

 **August 2013**

"Alright…is everyone here?" Tony asked.

"Did you invite anyone else?" Steve asked, carrying over two bowls of popcorn. He placed them on the coffee table next to the stack of pizza boxes and smaller packs of various candy.

"Did you leave anything for someone else to buy?" Ryder asked, looking at the multiple boxes of Twizzlers and Raisinettes.

"Sister Howlett has not joined us yet," Thor announced, after doing a headcount.

"She said she might not make it down," Natasha added. She was already sprawled out on one of the couches, with Clint sitting on the floor next to her, leaning back against the couch.

"Oh, she better be coming down," Tony grumbled getting to his feet.

"Look, she's still…" Ryder hesitated, chewing on his lip as he explained, "Breaking furniture."

"That's not an excuse to miss movie night," Tony told him, already heading to the elevator.

"Hey, be happy she at least leaves her apartment," Steve said, settling into one of the armchairs. "That's at least progress!"

"It doesn't matter if she doesn't even bother to leave the Tower!" The doors hissed shut behind him and he said, "Jarvis…you know what to do."

" _She won't like that Sir."_

"Don't care, Jarvis…I've told you before, sometimes you have to run before you can walk."

" _I'm not quite sure that statement applies here."_

"Howlett's been hiding in her apartment since she was taken," Tony said on the way up. "I'm not going to push for leaving the Tower…but even _I_ know she needs to socialize more."

The doors hissed open, but when Tony walked into the apartment, he found it empty.

Queen, however, was blasting through the apartment, with Freddie Mercury belting out the lyrics to 'Headlong'.

"Where is she?"

" _Miss Howlett retreated to the shower,"_ Jarvis explained.

"Now?" Tony asked, checking his watch.

"Yes, _now,_ " Case grumbled from the hallway as she came into sight, hair still wet from her shower and sticking to her head and fingers as she tied it up in a knot, wearing a t-shirt with Freddie Mercury on stage at Wembley Stadium. Her green plaid pajama pants were dragging on the floor as she sighed, "Why are you here, Tony?"

"Movie night," Tony snapped. "That everyone else managed to make it to but _you._ "

"I'm not in the mood, Tony," Case sighed, before plopping down on her couch.

A snap could be heard, with a few metallic springing sounds, and Case sank toward the floor.

Seeing the tears starting to fill his friend's eyes, Tony sprang into action and grabbed Case's arms, "Come on, Howlett…we're going to movie night. We'll deal with the broken sofa later."

"Tony, I don't wanna—"

"Movie night is not a recommendation, it's a requirement," Tony said, half-dragging Case toward the elevator, "Team building and all that bullshit…besides, I picked the movie just for you."

"As much as I'd like to see the rest I'm really not in the mood—"

"Nah, we'll save _Tokyo Drift_ for another day," Tony shrugged.

"So, what are we watching?" Case asked, standing straight as they got into the elevator.

"It's a movie called _Takers_ ," Tony said. "Group of guys pulls off elaborate bank robberies."

"What makes that a movie just for me?"

Tony gave a smirk, "You'll see."


	11. Just Surrender and It Won't Hurt at All

**Here's a chapter starring our lovely tactile-hypnotic mutant, Mister Ryder James Howlett. I wanted to explore the factory a bit, expand on what happened between him and Bucky before the Isolation Ward…bit angsty if I do say so myself.**

 **Constructive criticism is appreciated.**

* * *

 **"Just Surrender and It Won't Hurt at All"**

The end of another working day…and it was the hacking cough that had drawn Ryder's attention as they headed back to their cages.

He turned around in time to see Bucky collapse, skin as white as paper as he hit the ground. "Shit…Bucky, come on, you gotta get up!"

"I'm…I'm good," Bucky wheezed.

"Oh yeah, like Steve when he catches a cold," Ryder rolled his eyes, hoisting Bucky to his feet.

Bucky's eyes slid shut, and he started to become dead weight in Ryder's grip.

"No, no," Ryder shook his head, and touched Bucky's forehead. He knew he'd been coming down with something, but he hadn't thought it had been that bad. He swallowed roughly when he felt the heat radiating off his friend, and he grasped Bucky by the shoulders as he hissed, "C'mon Sarge…stay with me."

Bucky gave a small hum, but his eyes remained shut.

"Shit…come on James!" Ryder gave his friend a gentle shake. "Wake up!"

" _Du da drüben!"_ a voice shouted.

" _Oh putain…"_ Ryder cringed, trying to adjust Bucky, draping one of his arms across his shoulder. _"Il fallait choisir maintenant de tous les temps pour s'évanouir…"_

" _Geh zurück zu deinen Zellen!"_ the guard snapped. He eyed Bucky, _"Was zur Hölle ist los mit ihm?"_

"Nothing," Ryder answered. "We're moving."

" _Das sieht nicht nach nichts aus,"_ the guard stated, eyeing Bucky's limp form.

"You've got us working morning and night, what the hell did you think would happen?" Ryder snapped. The guard grabbed his baton, and Ryder's grip tightened over his friend, "We're going, we're going!"

" _Hier drüben!"_ the guard suddenly called out. _"Ein weiterer für die Isolation Ward!"_

" _Oh non,"_ Ryder whispered.

Thankfully the guard started yelling when he was within reach. In seconds Ryder yanked the glove off his right hand with his teeth and grasped the guard by the scruff of his neck.

" _Sie haben nichts gesehen,"_ Ryder growled to him. _"Du wirst jedem, der vorbeikommt, sagen, dass du einen Fehler gemacht hast ... verstehst du mich?"_

The guard's face went blank, but he gave a brief nod.

" _Wir kehren in unsere Zellen zurück ... Sie werden uns nicht folgen oder jemanden nach uns schicken, sind wir uns sicher?"_

Another nod.

" _Gut ... ich wünsche Ihnen einen schönen Tag,"_ Ryder said, giving him a small friendly smile. He let the guard go and turned with Bucky, shuffling off toward the cells.

"Please tell me you didn't just do what I think you did," Bucky said quietly once they were out of earshot.

"Alright, then I won't," Ryder told him.

"You can't do that…what if they catch you?"

"You seem pretty wide-awake for someone who just passed out on his feet."

"Don't change the subject Howlett," Bucky broke away from Ryder, and while he swayed a little on his feet he managed to stay upright.

"Look, I don't wanna have to go home to Steve and Case and tell them I let you die here," Ryder told him, taking the time to pull the glove back over his right hand, "I can't break their hearts like that."

"You might have to."

That stopped Ryder in his tracks, "What are you talking about?"

Bucky let loose another wet-sounding cough that would've knocked him off his feet if Ryder hadn't been there to steady him. "I'll be forever grateful that you've got my back in here…but I won't have you risk your safety for mine…if they come for me…you have to let me go."

"Clearly that fever is making you delusional if you think I'm just gonna let—"

"That's an _order_ , Corporal," Bucky said firmly.

Ryder stared at him for a moment, and he couldn't deny that his friend looked like death warmed over. He chewed on his lip and gave a small shake of his head, "I don't know if I can do that, Sergeant."

"You have to. It's not an option."

Ryder felt tears start to fill his eyes, and he cleared his throat as he tried to hide them, "We've…we've gotta keep moving. That suggestion won't hold forever you know."

"Ryder—"

"I'm _not_ having this conversation," Ryder told him firmly. "I understand your orders…I'll do my best to follow them."

"You _will_ follow them," Bucky told him as they started walking again.

Ryder didn't respond to the comment, just kept moving.

By the time they reached their cells, the remaining guards just slammed the door behind them both, hissing some rather unkind words in German.

"You catch that?" Bucky asked, settling into his usual spot in the rounded space.

"Nothing that bears repeating," Ryder rolled his eyes.

Bucky gave another nod and another obnoxiously loud cough.

"You're gonna wanna get that cough checked out, Sarge," Dugan mumbled from under his hat.

"I'll get right on that," Bucky rasped, leaning back against the bars.

Ryder eased into the spot next to Bucky, cold bars pressing into his back a rather welcome feeling after working on the machines all day. He closed his eyes and gave a small sigh of relief just to be off his feet, even though it was going to be for a minimal amount of time.

"There is…one other thing we need to discuss," Bucky added quietly.

Ryder frowned as he cracked one eye open, "And what would that be?"

Bucky went quiet, and Ryder thought maybe he'd fallen asleep instead – which was fine by him, he really didn't want to have any more of these heart wrenching conversations.

However, luck just wasn't on his side tonight, because Bucky said, "I love her."

Both Ryder's eyes were open now, and he looked over at his friend.

A look of regret had washed over Bucky's face, and his eyes were rather wet – although that could have been because of the coughing, Ryder wasn't sure.

"You love…who?"

Bucky sent him an annoyed look, "Who do you think you idiot?" He settled back against the bars, staring off into space, "I think I've loved her for a while…it's why Morrison being with her bugged the shit out of me…"

"Yeah but Case and Malcolm broke up years ago…" Ryder frowned.

"I know…but it just…never seemed like the right time," Bucky continued. "I thought…maybe it _was_ jealousy…but…" He scrubbed a hand over his face, "All that time wasted…"

"So what?" Ryder asked. "When we get outta here, you're gonna tell her. You'll get married, find a nice little place in Brooklyn and soon enough you'll have a whole lot of messy-haired rugrats crawling around."

Bucky gave a weak chuckle, "Oh god…can you really imagine us as parents?"

"Sarge as a breeder?" Dugan suddenly asked.

"Bad news for the gene pool," Morita added from his corner.

Bucky scowled, "Thank you for the input, gentlemen."

Ryder chuckled as he folded his arms, and he sobered up as he asked, "Why you tellin' me this now?"

Bucky shifted so he was more comfortable, "You know why."

"Buck, I'm not breaking Case's heart like that."

"I want her to know."

"Then you're gonna have to tell her yourself."

"I _will_ ," Bucky scowled as he closed his eyes. "Just…in case something happens…now you know."

Ryder gave a small scowl and shot a glare toward his friend as he warned, "You break her heart I'll break your neck."

"Yeah, good luck with that Howlett."

* * *

The next day passed without incident – except for Bucky's worsening cough. When they retired for the day Ryder kept Bucky talking when he could, trying to give him something to keep fighting for.

Apparently, Bucky had been in love with Case for a while, but never did anything about it. Ryder couldn't help but want to scream from the highest rooftop that both his friend and his sister were the biggest idiots on the planet. He couldn't have Bucky give up the fight now…

"Your eyes change, you know," Bucky said in a bleary voice.

Ryder blinked at him, "Huh?"

Bucky looked over at him, and even glazed over his eyes practically glowed in the dim light. "I noticed it on Case first…after a while I noticed it with you too. For the most part they're this…blue-green color, but sometimes your eyes are almost gray…other times almost completely green."

"Hadn't noticed…"

"Her eyes are beautiful…" Bucky grew quieter. "She's beautiful…sweetest little thing in the world…then piss her off and she throws a mean right hook."

Ryder gave a weak smile, "That's my sister."

"Why didn't I tell her sooner?" Bucky rasped. "She…she deserves so much better…someone who isn't afraid to…"

"James!" Ryder snapped. He grasped Bucky's shoulder and gently shook it, "Snap out of it! Come on!"

Bucky blinked, "Sorry…got…a little carried away I guess…"

"Look, you're going home to Case, alright?" Ryder said firmly. He looked his friend in the eye, trying to remain calm and confident…but he couldn't ignore the white skin, bloodshot eyes, the way Bucky wheezed every time he took a breath, and the way heat was practically scorching his palm. He gripped his shoulder firmly, but his voice broke as he added, "You _have_ to."

Bucky looked at him with tired eyes, and his mouth quirked in an attempt at a smile, "You'll tell her…right?"

"Bucky, I—"

"And take care of them," Bucky added. "Steve and Case…hard-headed and always getting into trouble. Keep them safe, yeah?"

Ryder gave a small smile, "That I _can_ do."

Bucky's mouth quirked higher as he closed his eyes, "Good."

Ryder removed his hand from Bucky's shoulder, settling his back against the bars, fighting back a wince as he listened to Bucky's labored breathing.

A hand clasped his shoulder, and Morita spoke quietly next to him, "I'm sorry, Corporal."

"He'll be fine," Ryder whispered, feeling that moisture creep into his eyes again. "He _has_ to be fine…and not just for my sister…"

"What do you mean?"

Ryder gave a sniffle that he'd deny to his dying day…if that ever came. He looked over at Morita, seeing him clearly in the dim light and he quietly admitted, "I've been following James Barnes since I was six years old…he's my brother in everything but blood, just like Steve…"

Morita squeezed his shoulder but remained silent.

Ryder didn't sleep that night, he just kept watch over his friend, hoping at this point he just made it through the night.

* * *

The next day dawned like the others…they all shuffled out of their cells and headed deeper into the factory.

Hours had passed, it was almost the end of the day when the coughing fit hit.

Ryder turned around to see Bucky collapse onto the floor, gasping for breath as he hacked. He'd stepped forward just as he saw the guards swarm around Bucky.

He could hear his friend's hacking cough echo through the factory as he was dragged to the Isolation Ward…where others had gone to, but nobody ever returned.

It was really the only thing he could hear as the rest of the guards herded them back into their cells.

Ryder tucked his knees to his chest in his usual spot, now staring at an empty space.

He could hear Morita and Dugan try to get his attention, but he ignored them.

Ryder Howlett didn't like change, he didn't like looking ahead. He was a mutant, and if his abilities were _anything_ like his father's, he'd be losing everyone he was closest to, outside of his blood relatives.

On a rational level, he _knew_ Steve and Bucky were only going to be temporary fixtures in his life in the long run. And on a different level, he knew the likelihood of Steve even seeing the age of thirty-five was going to be a stretch.

But Steve was stubborn and resilient, trying – and usually failing spectacularly – to beat the tar out of bullies to stand up for the little guy, and always clung to life even if they had the doctors breathing down their necks telling them they needed to call the priest for his last rights.

And Bucky was just as stubborn, but strong as an ox. Never as sickly as Steve, but easily fitting into the 'mother hen' position if Steve needed it. Or going on the war path to beat the tar out of any bully that left a bruise on Steve.

So maybe at some point Ryder had forgotten that his friends were human, that the real world wasn't always so kind, and that sometimes it took lives sooner than it should…because _everybody_ knew that once you went to the Isolation Ward you were never coming back.

And as Ryder continued to stare at the empty space, he realized he'd already known a long time ago that he was going to have to let Bucky go eventually…he just hadn't expected it to be so soon, or to hurt this much.

* * *

 **Few more notes:**

 **I do not own "Hammer to Fall" where the title of the chapter came from. Also, two of the quotes that were used, I do not own "The Fast and the Furious" or "Roughnecks: Starship Troopers Chronicles"**

 **And as per the usual, to quote Korben Dallas from "The Fifth Element" I only speak 2 languages, English and Bad English. According to Google Translate, this is what the scene translates to:**

" _You there!"_ a voice shouted.

" _Oh fuck…"_ Ryder cringed, trying to adjust Bucky, draping one of his arms across his shoulder. _"You had to pick now of all times to pass out…"_

" _Get back to your cells!"_ the guard snapped. He eyed Bucky, _"What the hell is wrong with him?"_

"Nothing," Ryder answered. "We're moving."

" _That doesn't look like nothing,"_ the guard stated, eyeing Bucky's limp form.

"You've got us working morning and night, what the hell did you think would happen?" Ryder snapped. The guard grabbed his baton, and Ryder's grip tightened over his friend, "We're going, we're going!"

" _Over here!"_ the guard suddenly called out. _"Another for the Isolation Ward!"_

" _Oh, hell no,"_ Ryder whispered.

Thankfully the guard started yelling when he was within reach. In seconds Ryder yanked the glove off his right hand with his teeth and grasped the guard by the scruff of his neck.

" _You didn't see anything,"_ Ryder growled to him. _"You're going to tell whoever comes by that you made a mistake…do you understand me?"_

The guard's face went blank, but he gave a brief nod.

" _We're going back to our cells…you're not going to follow us or send anyone after us, are we clear?"_

Another nod.

" _Good…have a nice day,"_ Ryder said, giving him a small friendly smile. He let the guard go and turned with Bucky, shuffling off toward the cells.


	12. The Great Pretender

**Welcome to Chapter Twelve. This chapter is a snippet of more to come, I plan to turn this one into a full-fledged fic when the time is right.**

 **Constructive criticism is appreciated.**

* * *

 **"The Great Pretender"**

Bucky woke with a gasp, drenched in a cold sweat, with violent images thrust into the forefront of his mind thanks to his subconscious.

Another face…another bullet…another life taken by his hand.

It took him a few moments to remember where he was. He was sitting up in bed, still checking his hands for the blood splatter when it started coming back… _Case's apartment, Case's bed…_

He didn't want to wake Case to be honest – though he was surprised she wasn't already up and trying to calm him down. But…he didn't want to look a gift horse in the mouth – while it was good to have Case to ground him after nightmares, it was also good to know she was getting some sleep. She'd been having trouble sleeping through the night for as long as he'd known her.

Moving as quietly as he could to get out of bed, he headed for the bathroom, intending to splash some cold water on his face. Sleep wasn't likely going to return for a while, if at all for the night.

He was drying his face with a soft green hand towel when he heard it…

" _Aaaaaay-oh!"_

Bucky gave a sigh as he lowered the towel and gave his reflection a tired glare as a crowd repeated the call.

" _Ay-ay-oh!"_

" _Ay-ay-oh!"_

He left the bathroom, instead of making the left turn to go back to the bedroom he made the right toward the living room.

 _That_ was why Case didn't wake up to calm him down. She wasn't asleep…she _wasn't there._

The only source of light was the large flat-screen television Case had against the wall – other than that all lights were out, and moonlight was pouring in through the plate glass window that had the curtains open.

Anytime Bucky saw that he had to fight the reflex to pull them. He knew Case loved that window – she'd told him it was one of the reasons she'd gotten the place, but when the curtains were open it made him feel too open and exposed. In his own place he kept his windows covered, his doors locked…

 _The soft sound of glass breaking…_

 _The dart hit her in the back of her neck, and she dropped to the floor…_

Bucky blinked and tried to shake the memories away.

On the television screen, Freddie Mercury continued his back and forth with the audience, working the crowd in a way that only _he_ was capable of.

Bucky could see a long black cable running from the TV to Case's laptop, and he gave a sigh, _Of course…_

For a moment, Bucky tried to remember where he was at during that time – he was pretty sure he was in and out of the ice during the Eighties…while the faces of those he killed were coming back with alarming clarity, the timeframes were still blurred.

He vaguely recalled advertisements for Live Aid…maybe he _had_ been out of the ice around that time? He recalled a few Hydra agents singing 'Another One Bites the Dust' on more than one occasion…because they were classy like that.

" _Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey! 'Hammer to Fall'!"_

Bucky blinked again as he came back to reality and looked over to the sofa, eyebrows raised in concern.

Case was laying stretched out on the couch – still dressed in the long-sleeved gray Henley shirt and black leggings she'd worn to bed, with her wavy brown hair tied up in a messy knot. But she wasn't _moving_ …when Queen was playing – and especially 'Hammer to Fall' – Case at least acknowledged, maybe a head bob or she'd start singing along. At _most_ she'd strut around like Freddie was currently doing on stage in the video, acting like she had a microphone stand in her grip.

Bucky knew that last part from experience – he'd seen her do it.

Case's eyes were on the television…but something seemed… _off._

Concern grew as he made his way over to the sofa, Case seemed to be in her own little world – didn't even react when he lifted her ankles and plopped her feet in his lap as he sat down. When he looked closer, he could see her eyes were kind of glazed over, a little unfocused.

He got a reaction when he scribbled his fingers over the soles of her feet – Case gave a yelp and tucked her knees into her chest.

"What the hell Buck?" She snapped with a glare.

"I was trying to get your attention."

" _Don't_ _touch_ my feet," Case growled.

"Would you have preferred I went after your belly?"

Case crossed her arms over her stomach protectively, and scowled at him as she placed her feet flat on the couch cushion, "What do you want Bucky?"

"I want to know where you were just now."

Case looked at him in confusion, "I was right here…you know, on the couch? Where you just found me?"

"I found you staring off into space."

Case frowned and looked over at the screen, "Hey, 'Hammer to Fall'…"

"Yeah…Freddie Mercury announced that before they started playing it."

"That means I must've missed 'Bohemian Rhapsody' and 'Radio Ga-Ga'," Case added, sitting up to reach for her computer. She lifted the panel and ran her finger across the track pad to reload the video.

"Cassidy," Bucky frowned.

"What?"

Bucky rolled his eyes and closed the laptop panel as Freddie took the stage to greet the cheering crowd, "You weren't in bed…"

"Did you have a nightmare?" Concern filled her voice now as she sat up.

"This isn't about me!" Bucky snapped. He took a deep breath – he didn't want to yell at her. Yelling solved nothing, and they spent too much time _not_ talking with each other already. "We went to bed last night _together_ …did you actually sleep?"

Case sighed, "Buck…it's fine. I'm fine, I…"

"Cassidy… _you're not fine!"_

Case's eyes narrowed, and Bucky could see her jaw clenching, "You know…I really hate it when people tell me how I feel."

"Maybe people would tell you it less if you actually faced how you're feeling like a normal person, instead of ignoring it and pretending you're fine when you're not." _You're losing credibility here, James,_ a voice inside his head told him.

"Great, so I tell them I'm not fine and they go off and come to some half-baked conclusion. People don't want to know what I think, what I _feel_ …they just want to have everything fit into some cookie-cutter solution while at the same time yelling at the top of their lungs that not everyone fits into that cookie-cutter method but nobody seems to want to actually do anything about it!"

" _I_ want to know how you feel!" Bucky snapped. "And from what you've told me your friends want to know! Sam wants to know…and that Stark kid, he wants to know. And you can't tell me that Steve and Ryder don't want to know—"

"Those two are like opening a can of worms," Case pointed out. "Ryder just sees me as his innocent little sister, and Steve…"

"Is a stubborn punk," Bucky said with a small smile.

Case, however, didn't return the smile. She folded her arms across her chest and got to her feet, heading for the door. Bucky was worried she was going to walk out, but she just stopped and _thunked_ her forehead against it, shoulders slumping as she gave a sigh of defeat.

She finally turned to face him, resting her back against the door. "Why do you still want to be with me?"

Bucky frowned at her, "Is that a trick question?"

Case shook her head, "No…it's not."

Bucky licked at his lips for a moment, then said, "You looked at Steve as a person…not some sickly thing that couldn't function in the real world, and you helped protect him but still gave him room to be himself. You raced off with him to help save the rest of the Hundred and Seventh and when Steve asked you went back onto the battlefield for more."

"I went with him to save _you,_ " Case pointed out, eyes going to her feet.

Bucky scrubbed a hand over his face as he got to his feet, "You're a hero…you're an Avenger."

Case sighed, "Is that the _only_ thing you like about me?"

"No," Bucky shook his head as he walked toward her. "I've always admired how you can call someone out on their bullshit and give Steve a run for his money in the stubbornness department. You stand up for what's right…you don't back down. You also…" He chewed on his lip, trying to find the words, "You were always your own person. Sure, you were Ryder's sister…my and Steve's friend…but you always were more than that. You went off on your own and did your own thing, whether that was singing or dancing…you didn't let anyone tell you what you could or couldn't do, or that you should behave a certain way because it was what everyone else thought was the right thing to do." He raised his left hand, the metal glinting in the moonlight coming in from the window. " _And_ you still want to be with me in spite of this—"

"Why would I judge about a metal arm?" Case asked. "I have adamantium fused to my bones, as does my father, and my mother and brother can hypnotize people with their hands…a man with a metal arm is a pretty normal thing to me."

"So why would I not want to be with you?"

Case gave another sigh, and headed back toward the couch, "I had a nightmare…Silverfox was…"

When she didn't continue, Bucky cocked his head at her, "What was she doing?"

"She uh…" Case didn't seem to be able to finish the thought, she just sat down on the couch. She wiped at her eyes, "She was just…running her mouth like she always did…"

"Look, whatever she told you," Bucky said quickly, "I…"

What was there to say? He couldn't spout the same nonsense Case usually did regarding it not being his fault…sure Hydra had control, but he still did it. It was his hand that fired the guns, that wielded the knives…he'd ended…

"It wasn't about you," Case said, cutting into his reverie. She gave a weak chuckle, "At least nothing you did as the Winter Soldier…and it doesn't matter what you did to begin with. I _know_ it was you…I get that. But you weren't in control… _they_ were."

Case was side-stepping…she was hiding something from him, he could tell. "Case…"

"Look, I don't want to talk about it," Case sighed.

"But Case…aren't you the one that always wants me to tell you about my nightmares?"

"Yeah, and I try not to push you into telling what happened."

Bucky grit his teeth, trying to find a better argument. "Case…you can't keep pretending you're fine. You're not…and you got into a place where even Queen couldn't help you. You didn't even know I was in the room until I tickled you."

Case sighed, her shoulders slumping, eyes going to the floor.

Bucky's shoulders slumped as well, and when she didn't say anything to him, he finally said, "You don't have to tell me…but you're _not_ fine. You might be able to fool those friends of yours…and if you have Ryder and Steve fooled—"

"I don't live with them in New York…not exactly, anyway," Case reminded him. "We each have our own floor of the Avengers' Tower…and I told Jarvis to not tell them or call them unless I said so."

"Why not?"

"Because they had their own problems trying to adjust," Case rolled her eyes. "I don't want to pile on my problems and insecurities too."

"But…Ryder's your brother, and Steve…" Bucky trailed off.

Case gave a huff, "I'm sorry…and _why_ are you still avoiding Steve?"

"You know why."

"Steve doesn't hold any of it against you."

"He's a punk that doesn't know when to back down from a fight…"

Those were some of the memories that had come back first…the beating he'd given Steve. Bucky _still_ wasn't ready to face him, even after all this time…all Steve had been to him was 'The Man on the Bridge' in the brief moments before they'd stuck him in the chair and erased his memories…he could remember punch after punch, yelling at Steve that he didn't know him…that he was his mission…

" _Then finish it…because I'm with you till the end of the line…"_

"Bucky…" Case was suddenly in front of him, her hands reaching up to touch his cheeks.

He gave a gasp for breath and he blinked, "Huh…"

"Sorry, you were starting to disappear," Case said, and he could see the worry in her eyes. "Are you still with me?"

Bucky released the fist he'd clenched his metal hand into. He gave a weak nod, "Y-yeah, I think so…"

Case rubbed her thumbs over his cheeks, "Come back to bed with me?"

Bucky gave a nod and followed her back into the bedroom. He crawled into bed first, sitting up with his back pressed against the headboard, and Case got in after, laying down and curling up against his right side, resting her head against his chest and draping her arm across his waist, clutching his shirt like he was going to disappear.

He rubbed his right hand up and down her back, "Whatever the dream was…was it that bad?"

Case buried her face in his chest now, her arm tightening around his waist.

"I'm sorry," Bucky whispered, pressing a kiss into her hair.

They sat in silence, Bucky still rubbing her back, Case still clutching him for dear life. He thought she'd fallen asleep for a few moments…then she shifted and rested her cheek against him.

"My mother's alive, Buck."

He frowned at looked down at her, "What?"

"My mother…who I thought had died back in nineteen twenty-three…is alive."

"Your…" Bucky wasn't sure how to respond. "Have you seen her?"

"I have."

"What…" Bucky still struggled to wrap his head around the idea. He knew very little about the mysterious Mother Howlett – and that was before Hydra got ahold of him. "What was…is she—"

"She looks exactly as she did when she told us to go hide in the closet," Case told him.

She was trembling now, and Bucky tightened his grip on her, "Even after all this time?"

"Even after all this time."

"So, she ages like your dad."

"Guess so."

Bucky could feel wetness start to soak through his t-shirt, and he reached up to wipe at Case's tear-stained cheeks with his thumb, "I take it this wasn't a happy reunion?"

"She's done a lot of horrible things, James," Case whispered. "She's hurt a lot of people…she's not the person I thought she was."

 _No wonder she can't sleep,_ Bucky thought with a sigh as he squeezed his arm around her, "I'm sorry, Cass—"

"Don't call me 'Cassidy'," Case cut him off. "Not now…please."

Bucky frowned but nodded, "Alright, _Case._ "

She got like that sometimes…it was new, that much Bucky knew for sure. He could only assume it was because Silverfox had always referred to her as 'Cassidy' if she called her by her name at all.

"Is that what Silverfox was telling you in your dream?" Bucky asked.

Case gave a shrug, "Kind of…yeah…but she told me the truth when we were in Siberia. The nightmare just…twisted it, I guess…"

"Have you tried talking to your friend Sam about your nightmares?"

Case shook her head, "I told him about that last one I had from Siberia…at least that I _had_ one…"

"But you didn't go into any details?"

"Just that I almost died in Siberia," Case admitted. "And that my mother is alive…he knows that too."

"I feel like I should be offended that you told him before me."

Bucky had meant it as a joke – in all honesty, he was just glad Case had told _somebody._ She was notorious for overthinking things and only expressing herself when she couldn't hide the truth any longer _._

Evidently though, it was the absolute wrong thing to say, considering he was suddenly holding empty air and Case's bedroom closet was slamming shut.

"Shit…" Bucky crawled out of bed and sat down in front of the closet door. "Case—"

"Just go away."

Bucky cringed – it sounded like Case was actively crying now. "Case…I'm not offended you told Sam instead of me…he's your friend, and he's trying to help—"

"What the hell can anyone say that can help with this?" Case sobbed. "There's _nothing_ you can say that can make this okay! That will erase the twenty some odd years of insomnia I had even before the ice! To fix the abandonment issues that I thought were long behind me, only to have them spring up again after finding out the truth!"

Bucky shook his head, "I don't think you ever really lost the abandonment issues, Case."

"Fuck off!"

"I'm just saying…you don't like relying on others, you're afraid to let someone close because you're afraid that once they see something about you that they don't like they'll walk away."

"It's not that simple, James."

"Then _make_ it simple, Cassidy," Bucky called to her.

Case didn't, however, she just remained in the closet. Bucky was sure he heard her try and say _something,_ but the sobbing and closet door muffled any of the words she spoke.

With a sigh, Bucky made himself comfortable against the foot of the bed, resting his head against the mattress as he stared at the closed door.

It wasn't the first time he'd waited for Case outside of a closed door…it wouldn't be the last.

Whatever it was she was trying to hide…she'd have to face it sometime.


	13. I'm With You till The End of The Line

**Welcome to Chapter Thirteen – and jeez it's been a while since I've updated this, huh? Bit angsty this one-shot, but I wanted to explore one of the darker points of Steve's life. I hope I didn't do too bad with it.**

 **Constructive criticism is appreciated.**

* * *

 **"I'm With You till The End of The Line"**

 **December 1936**

Steve Rogers was sprawled across his sofa, arm draped over his eyes.

The apartment was cold…but Steve didn't have the means to heat it, nor did he have the energy to get up and grab a blanket either.

Didn't matter anyway…it was just him living here. His mother had died two months ago now…and despite his friends' requests and offers, Steve just didn't want any help.

He could get by on his own, he knew he could…it's just sometimes moments like this happened. He just didn't care about anyone or anything…

 _What do they know, anyway?_ Steve thought bitterly.

The Howlett family lived a comfortable lifestyle, in a three-bedroom apartment that was well insulated and had a reliable heater in the wintertime…not that they really needed it, although Logan always bundled up a little bit more when the temperature dropped. The three of them together – father, brother, sister…crazy uncle that always wore gloves on occasion.

The Barnes family wasn't quite as well off as the Howletts – although they managed to get by with what they had in their nice three-bedroom apartment that got a little chilly now and then but had a functioning heater…the four of them, a mother, a father, sister, brother…

What did Steve have? A cold apartment and no parents, no siblings…Steve was _alone._

Eighteen years old and _alone_.

He didn't even have a significant other, which usually didn't bother him – most girls don't like spending time with a guy they could step on anyway – but when all your friends had a date on a Friday night and you were sitting alone in your apartment in the middle of winter, it really could get on a guy's nerves.

Steve looked over at his discarded sketchpad. It was filled with half-completed sketches of his mother and his friends; he'd been working on one of Case when he'd thought 'to hell with it' and threw everything aside.

 _Some friends,_ Steve scowled into the emptiness.

In his rational mind, Steve knew he had nobody to blame but himself. He'd told his friends to stay away, and clearly, they were giving him the space he'd said he'd needed.

However, in this depressed state of mind Steve had going all those thoughts got twisted into something else…currently Steve was feeling abandoned, alone, and unloved.

The room was slowly getting darker as the sun went down, and the temperature dropped even lower.

Steve gave a sigh and tried to relax a little more into the sofa cushions. He was exhausted and could barely keep his eyes open.

It didn't take much for him to drift off to sleep, hoping things might look better in the morning.

* * *

Steve woke to the sound of a hacking cough.

No, not just the sound – it took him a moment to realize the hacking was coming from his own feeble lungs, and he was practically cocooned in every blanket he owned.

A glass of water suddenly appeared in front of him, and Steve managed to work a hand free to take it as the coughing fit eased, and he sipped the water to soothe his parched throat.

"Thanks," He whispered.

"Uh-huh," Case said, before resuming what Steve assumed was the seat she'd been in, it was at his bedside and pointed directly at him. He noticed she was wearing a black colored sweater, a light blue scarf he remembered she'd knitted herself, and tan, wide-legged snow pants. She crossed her legs and folded her arms as she said, "Well?"

"Well what?" Steve asked, and once the glass was empty, he put it on the nightstand.

Case's jaw clenched, and she said in an eerily calm voice, "For starters…how 'bout starting with why the hell I just had to drag you into your bed…not to mention you were shaking like a leaf because you were so cold."

"I was comfortable on the couch."

"Right…that's why you've described sleeping on it in the past like sleeping on rocks."

Steve shrugged, though it wasn't very visible under the blankets, and mumbled, "Still…"

"Okay," Case's mouth turned into a thin line, "How about answering the questions as to why your apartment is like an ice-box, and you decided the best way to lounge around the apartment was in a t-shirt?"

"This place never got very warm in the wintertime, you know that," Steve said, huddling in his blanket cocoon.

"That's…that's all you can say?"

"What else do you want me to say?"

"An explanation would be nice," Case snapped. "You know…for why you're pushing the rest of us away? For why you're being a recluse in your home instead of interacting with the living? Why I found you freezing and hacking in a cold apartment _alone?_ "

Steve's gaze dropped to the blankets, "Case, I can get by on my own."

Case blinked, "Clearly."

"Don't you have an elsewhere to be?"

"Yes…I came here because I haven't seen you in over a week and I had planned on asking you to the movies," Case snapped.

"You…were?"

"Yeah," Case nodded. "Then it started snowing."

"It's _what_?" Steve sat up and turned toward his bedroom window. He could see the flakes drifting down from the sky and collecting on the windowsill. "Oh…so it is."

"Which means any minute now Bucky and Ryder are going to be beating down your door making sure you're alright," Case said, folding her arms.

"They don't…" Steve began, then started coughing again.

"Sure, they don't _need_ to," Case told him. "But they're going to anyway, because we're your friends." As the coughing fit eased, her mouth quirked up in a small smile, "And they're gonna be pissed when they see this."

"They can't see me like this!" Steve said, trying unsuccessfully to break free of the cocoon.

"They've seen worse," Case pointed out.

"Yeah…but after all this?" Steve asked. "Do you know how they'll react?"

Case's face split into a million-dollar smile, "I'm just sad I don't have any popcorn."

"You're evil, you know that?"

"I may be evil but you're an idiot," Case pointed out. Her smile faded, "In all seriousness though…she wouldn't want you doing this to yourself…she'd want you to be happy."

"Don't…" Steve began, opting to grab the edges he'd loosened and wrap them tighter around himself. "You…you don't…"

"I don't know anything?" Case asked.

Steve didn't look at her, he just focused on the blankets.

"Steve, losing her felt like losing my own—"

"But she wasn't yours!" Steve shouted at her. Case's cheeks turned red and her mouth snapped shut as Steve continued, "She wasn't your mother she was _mine!_ She was mine and now she's…" Tears filled his eyes suddenly, and he whispered, "I need her."

Warm arms wrapped around him, and Steve buried his face in Case's chest. She rested her cheek against his head, and leaned back against the headboard, hugging him tightly as he cried.

When he started coughing again, Case started rubbing his back, "I lost my real mom when I was five."

"I know Case," Steve mumbled nasally into her shirt.

"I stayed awake at night, waiting for her to come back," Case added in a quiet tone. "She wasn't there when I needed to learn how to do pin-curls, needed to learn how to do my makeup…" he heard her sniffle, but wasn't ready to look her in the eye. "Besides Winnie, Sarah was the closest I've ever come to actually having a mother…I know she wasn't _really_ mine but…"

"I'm sorry Case, I shouldn't have said that," Steve sniffled.

"Yeah well…considering all that's happened, I'll let it pass," Case said with a chuckle. She continued rubbing her hand up and down his back, "You doing better?"

"Yeah I guess…" Steve admitted. "I just felt so… _alone._ "

"Sorry about that…we just didn't want to push," Case said. "Although…you had another week before we started _really_ stepping in."

"Another week? Then why did you come tonight?"

"I was bored…and I missed you," Case said sheepishly. "Haven't seen you in a week…outside of illness that's the longest we've been apart since we met."

"Even though every time you've come by, I told you to get lost?"

"You just lost your _mother_ Steve…what kinda friend would I be if I held that against you?"

"A truly justified friend," Steve said with a yawn.

"Nah," Case said, cocking her head at him, "You're still tired, aren't you?"

Steve just gave a slow nod, just focusing on the rise and fall of her chest, "You're really warm."

"Compared to your apartment here and the fact you usually run really cold, I'll bet I am in comparison," Case said, taking off the scarf and wrapping it around Steve's neck, "Come on, lay down and get comfortable."

Steve did as she said, wrapping his arms around her waist and nuzzling into her stomach, "Thanks…"

Case adjusted the blankets, so they covered more of Steve. She started rubbing his back again as she said, "Don't worry about it, Stevie."

"Still…" Steve yawned, closing his eyes again and just relaxing into her, "I'm sure you've got better things to do on a Friday night."

"Better things to do than make sure my friend is safe and breathing? No way," Case told him. "It's like Bucky always says…"

Steve just gave a hum as a response.

"Get some rest Stevie," Case gave a quiet chuckle, "Because we're with you to the end of the line."


	14. A Teaser Chapter

**Welcome to Chapter Fourteen.**

 **I've been toying with this idea for a while now, and I wanted to wait a bit before delving into the newest Marvel movies but…**

 **A plot bunny hit me, and I didn't want to let it go just yet.**

 **You may also be asking why I'm writing this Author's Note like this…or maybe not, but either way there is an explanation for this madness…and this is the reason:**

 **THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR BOTH "INFINITY WAR" AND "ENDGAME"**

 **Now, I'm not entirely sure if I need this disclosure, considering how many gifs and memes there have been from both IW and "Endgame" floating around on social media after the releases of both movies…but I also want to cover all bases just in case someone reads this and has not seen either movie yet. Better safe than sorry.**

 **Technically this is a teaser chapter for more to come. All little details I'm revealing here will be flushed out with time, hopefully any and all questions that come up will be answered as the main story line continues.**

 **As for the spoilers themselves, I think they're very slight – it's basically spoilers for the end of "Infinity War" and the first part of "Endgame", but if you haven't seen either you may want to avoid this chapter.**

 **Constructive criticism is appreciated.**

 **Now, I'm sure if you've come this far that means you have either seen both movies or at least know enough about both to not have anything ruined for you, considering how long it's been since "Endgame" was even in theaters, and not to mention what was addressed in "Far From Home"…if not, you have been warned, and this is your last chance to turn back.**

* * *

 **"A Teaser Chapter"**

 **June 2020**

Ryder Howlett woke with a gasp, drenched in sweat as he sat up in bed.

"Another nightmare?" Natasha asked groggily, slowly sitting up.

"I'm fine," Ryder assured her, putting a hand on her shoulder. "I'm gonna get some water…go back to sleep I'll be back soon."

Natasha eyed him wearily, and Ryder flashed her a charming smile.

"It's okay, baby, really," He said quietly, leaning down to kiss her on the forehead, "Go to sleep. Everything's fine."

Natasha gave a sigh then settled back into the blankets.

Ryder smiled then got to his feet. Natasha had thrown herself into leading the team, or what was left of it, and she rarely slept as it was.

Before anything else he stopped at the door down the hall from theirs and opened it quietly, peering into the room.

The room had two small beds in it, side by side, along with an overflowing toybox and a small table covered in crayons, coloring books, and blank sheets of paper.

In the beds were two small boys, fast asleep – one huddled under his blanket with only his tiny feet visible, the other's face was blocked by a mass of wavy brown hair, but Ryder could see his pillow was hugged to his face.

The twins were still safe, that was all that mattered to him.

Ryder gave a smile to the two sleeping toddlers, and turned away, not noticing one blue eye had cracked open and was watching him.

He made his way to the kitchen, grabbing a glass and filling it with water, before moving into the office.

He'd left his laptop on Natasha's desk, and he opened the panel, logging in and queuing up the music player. A familiar piano opening filled the air, and Ryder settled in on the couch, sipping his water slowly.

Music had never really been his solace like it had been for… _her_ …but after all that had happened, sometimes it felt like it was all he had left.

 _ **It's been a long day without you, my friend  
And I'll tell you all about it when I see you again  
We've come a long way from where we began  
Oh, I'll tell you all about it when I see you again  
When I see you again**_

He could see how the song could be kind of depressing, depending on what you could relate it to. He just never pictured it would be _him_ that would have a situation he could relate it to, but he couldn't help but let his mind wander as he stared at his left hand, slowly curling it into a fist.

 _ **Damn, who knew?  
All the planes we flew  
Good things we've been through  
That I'll be standing right here talking to you  
'Bout another path  
I know we loved to hit the road and laugh  
But something told me that it wouldn't last  
Had to switch up  
Look at things different, see the bigger picture  
Those were the days  
Hard work forever pays  
Now I see you in a better place (see you in a better place)**_

She'd been warm, solid…he'd reached out to comfort her…he'd squeezed her shoulder…

Ryder jumped when he heard a floorboard creak and his head jerked to the side. He gave a sigh of relief when he saw who it was.

A messy-haired three-year-old stood in the doorway, not even a little ashamed that he'd been caught out of bed at this hour of the night.

"Owen…what are you doing up?"

"You're up," Owen said brightly.

"Yeah, but it's…" Ryder looked at the clock on the laptop and his stomach dropped.

It was after two AM…on June 18th, 2020.

"It's…what?" Owen asked, crawling onto the couch to sit beside him.

"It's uh…" Ryder scrambled for an answer. "It's…my birthday…"

"Happy birf-day!"

Ryder blinked at him, "Thanks…"

"You gonna have party?"

"Uh, no…I don't celebrate my birthday anymore."

"Why?"

"That's uh…" Ryder sighed, "That's a story for a later time."

"Why?"

Ryder rolled his eyes, "Because I'm getting too distracted by your hair…it's getting crazy kid." He ruffled Owen's hair, earning a scowl from the toddler. "That's the Howlett side of you…messy hair is in our nature."

"Like Grampa Logan?"

"Exactly like Grampa Logan," Ryder chuckled, "Except for the sideburns…we leave those for him."

Owen giggled, "Grampa's fuwwy."

"You could say that," Ryder added. "But why are you up? You should be asleep."

"Heard you," Owen told him. "Came to be with you."

"That's very thoughtful," Ryder smiled, "But you need your sleep…"

"Why you up?"

Ryder chewed on his lip, "I…I had a bad dream."

"Was there a mons'er?"

"Nah, monsters don't scare me," Ryder said. "I fight monsters with your Uncle Steve, remember? They're no match for us."

Owen bobbed his head a bit at that response, then asked, "How else am I like a How'ett?"

Ryder shook his head, "The messy hair…the tendency for insomnia—"

"Whazzat?"

"Insomnia?"

"Yeah."

"You can't sleep, or you have trouble staying asleep," Ryder explained.

"Like me without my plate?"

"Exactly," Ryder nodded. "Also, that tendency you and your brother have to pronounce your R's like W's…apparently that's a hereditary trait too."

"Hew-ed-it-tawy?"

"Close enough…yeah it means you got it from the Howlett side," Ryder nodded.

Case had gone through a period where she couldn't pronounce certain letters. He could still remember her calling him 'Wyder', or sometimes even years later when she was in a rush saying 'Bucky Bawnes' or 'Steve Wogers'.

He frowned slightly; he'd never heard Owen slip this much before. His answer came quickly when the little guy let out an enormous yawn.

"Hey, buddy, maybe we should—"

"If you're gonna start throwing middle of the night parties, I'd at least like an invitation."

Both Ryder and Owen looked up at the doorway.

Natasha's red-and-blonde hair was a mess – the image made Ryder cringe on the inside, he was happy she was finally growing it out – and she was carrying another toddler on her hip, almost identical to the one that was sitting with Ryder. "You know how it works; one goes missing the other has to go looking."

"Sawwy Noah," Owen said sheepishly.

"S'awight," Noah responded drowsily with his head resting on Natasha's shoulder, he looked ready to pass out.

"Alright, that being said," Ryder announced, hauling Owen into his arms and balancing him on his own hip, "It's bedtime…for _both_ of you."

Owen gave a slow nod and nuzzled into his shoulder.

"For the _three_ of you," Natasha said pointedly, turning on her heel and heading for the twins' room.

"Yes ma'am," Ryder mumbled, hugging the sleepy toddler tighter against his side.

They reached the room in moments, Natasha easing Noah into bed, the boy so tired he fell back asleep on the short walk into the room.

Ryder tucked Owen into his own bed, pulling the covers up to the boy's chin as he cuddled with his odd, lopsided pillow. As he closed his eyes, Ryder pressed a kiss to the messy hair and joined Natasha at the door.

"Uncle Wyder?" Owen yawned.

Ryder turned to face him, "Yeah, bub?"

The boy sat up and reached inside his pillowcase. He stuck his tongue out as he worked something out of the pillow – it was a metal plate…a silver metal shoulder plate with a red star etched into it. "Do you want my plate?"

"Naw, buddy, I'll be okay," Ryder gave a weak smile as he took the plate and put it on the nightstand. "Plus, I've got your Auntie Natasha to help me sleep…I'll be okay."

Owen gave a sleepy nod and cuddled into his pillow, soon fast asleep like his brother.

Ryder closed the door silently and turned to Natasha, who was looking at him with concern in her eyes.

She knew what day it was, why it was hard for him.

He pulled her into his arms, hugging her tightly.

"I'm sorry, Ryder," Natasha whispered, squeezing him just as tightly. "I'm sorry we couldn't…"

"Stop…please…" Ryder winced, burying his face in her sleep-mussed hair. "Please…I don't want to think about it…"

Natasha gave a nod and just held onto him, opting to remain silent as Ryder continued to mourn what he lost, even two years later.

Because that was all he really had left of two of the people that had meant the world to him…a music playlist, an old shoulder plate, and a set of twin boys that had inherited Case's messy brown hair and Bucky's ice-blue eyes.

* * *

 **Goes without saying I do not own any rites to "See You Again" - belongs to Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth.**  
 **And...what did you think?**


End file.
